Housing matters in very old age—yet differently due to ADL dependence level differences

Abstract

In order to support the development of optimal housing options for older people, we need to increase our understanding of relations between aspects of housing and aspects of health in old and very old age. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore whether and how aspects of housing are related to life satisfaction and perceived health among very old, single-living Swedish people. Based on survey study data from the ENABLE-AGE Project (n = 397), correlation and regression analyses were performed with sub-groups of participants defined according to different levels of ADL dependence. The results showed that the aspects of housing related to life satisfaction and perceived health were different in the three ADL sub-groups. Among objective aspects of housing, accessibility problems influenced life satisfaction as well as perceived health, yet differently among the sub-groups. As concerns perceived aspects of housing, aspects of meaning of home (MOH) were influential on perceived health in several sub-groups, while only among persons dependent in I-ADL were social aspects of MOH related to life satisfaction. Among persons dependent in I-ADL, external housing-related control beliefs also played a role. In conclusion, the results indicate that housing matters in very old age, yet differently due to ADL dependence-level differences. Most importantly, different aspects of housing seem to play a role in different phases of the trajectory of disability in very old age, while longitudinal studies are needed to verify these indicative results.

The multiple meaning of home as experienced by very old Swedish people

“…This is probably important among very old persons and a strong reason for staying put at home when disability, frailty, and comorbidity increase. Results from the ENABLE-AGE Survey Study show that the experience of home as meaningful has been found to be related to experience of health (23,24). One of the studies (24) of very old people living in Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, and Latvia found that the participants who experienced home as meaningful and useful were more independent in daily activities and perceived a greater sense of well-being.…”

The home environment and quality of life-related outcomes in advanced old age: findings of the ENABLE-AGE project

“…We used the data gathered in Sweden and Germany as part of the ENABLE-AGE Project (Iwarsson et al 2007a, b) to test our hypotheses. The primary reason for this is that participants were drawn at random from official national registers in a highly similar way in Sweden and Germany.…”

Care recipients’ perceptions of activity-related life space and life satisfaction during and after geriatric rehabilitation

“…On the one hand, the results indicated that both subjective and objective aspects of housing should be considered in order to understand the relationships of the environment, healthy ageing, and ''ageing in place''. On the other hand, it was concluded that much is still to be learned about the complex interplay of home environment and health along the process of ageing and that qualitative studies in this area are needed to fine-tune the debate on housing arrangements for older individuals with ADL dependence [15].…”

“…Conversely, in recent studies [10,15,16] the theoretical ideas of the P-E fit model were used as a framework for empirical explorations of relationships between aspects of objective and perceived (i.e., some subjective aspects of) housing, ADL, and ageing, among old unimpaired community dwellers. On the one hand, the results indicated that both subjective and objective aspects of housing should be considered in order to understand the relationships of the environment, healthy ageing, and ''ageing in place''.…”