From retirement village to residential aged care: what older people and their families say

Abstract

The majority of older Australians, some of whom live in retirement villages, wish to remain living in their own home, receiving care in the community when their health and/or other circumstances change. Current statistics show that 3.7% of people aged 65 years and over live in a retirement village in Australia. However, residential aged care will still be required for some highly dependent members of the older population. This qualitative Australian study examined the transition into residential care from one form of community housing, the retirement village. In-depth interviews with 33 older people and 48 family members were conducted to illuminate the key issues and factors which influence the move of older people from retirement villages to residential aged care. Analysis of the data revealed the move to be influenced by: health-related crises; the creation of doubt as to ability to cope in the retirement village; the need for more or different care or support services; the desire for independence; assumptions about being able to move into the residential aged care facility co-located with the retirement village; availability of a place; navigating the system; and desirable aspects of a residential aged care facility. The findings of the study provide a description of the transition process from the perspectives of those directly affected, and contribute to the development of best practice in the provision of support to residents living in retirement villages and the community in general.

Negotiating and effectuating relocation to sheltered housing in old age: a Swedish study over 11 years

“…One testimony to the validity of our findings is that health decline appeared as a major indicator for relocation to sheltered housing in old age, as demonstrated by others (Castle 2001;Cheek et al 2006;Larsson et al 2006;Svidén et al 2002;Thomése and Broese van Groenou 2006). Further, our findings confirm that relocation is closely related to perceptions of home and health (Fänge and Dahlin Ivanoff 2009), and shed light on how very old people themselves reason about these issues.…”

“…Among cohabiting participants, declining health and increased ADL dependence were the most important predictors. When people were asked retrospectively about reasons for relocation to sheltered housing, the most common reasons stated were declining health and increased dependence (Cheek et al 2006;Svidén et al 2002). According to Cheek et al (2006), relocation to sheltered housing was not considered until it was unavoidable.…”

“…When people were asked retrospectively about reasons for relocation to sheltered housing, the most common reasons stated were declining health and increased dependence (Cheek et al 2006;Svidén et al 2002). According to Cheek et al (2006), relocation to sheltered housing was not considered until it was unavoidable. Overall, in the international scientific literature, in particular from a European perspective, only scarce recent research-based knowledge on relocation in very old age is available, and hardly anything based on very old people's personal reasoning and experiences.…”

Framing the Aging Experience in Care Facility Brochures: A Mixed-Method Analysis

“…Brochures contained very few pictures demonstrating how facility staff could fulfill medical and=or physical needs, in favor of photos containing staff fulfilling residents' social needs, supporting previous findings (e.g., Carder, 2002). This is ironic, given that individuals relocate to LTC facilities often to receive a level of physical care they can no longer provide for themselves, or one that is too burdensome on family members (Cheek, Ballantyne, Byers, & Quan, 2006;Newcomer, Preston, & Roderick, 1995). Although adopting the perception that residents retain much of their mobility and independence may do much good for brochure readers, there is a great potential for a Framing the Aging Experience 361 negative expectancy violation: In institutional contexts, staff often discourage resident independence due to staff time constraints or lack of patience (Grainger, 2004).…”

The use of community-based social services by elderly people at risk of institutionalization: An evaluation

“…1 Except from the measures 'autonomy' and the mobility scale, we used measures which have proved to have satisfying psychometric properties [35][36][37][38][39][40].…”