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1 – 10 of 472Sheau-Ting Low, Li-Ting Neo, Weng-Wai Choong, Razlin Mansor, Siaw-Chui Wee and Jing-Ying Woon
The world population over the age of 60 is expected to increase from 900 million in 2015 to two billion by 2050. Retirement homes have emerged as a prominent housing alternative…
Abstract
Purpose
The world population over the age of 60 is expected to increase from 900 million in 2015 to two billion by 2050. Retirement homes have emerged as a prominent housing alternative and become a trend for the older adults; however, older population in Malaysia could have a negative view of retirement homes. Different generations could have different perceptions of the value of retirement homes. This study aims to explore the value of retirement homes across diverse age cohorts in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach is adopted for this study. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the interview transcripts obtained from semi-structured interviews.
Findings
The results indicated that baby boomers tend to have more negative values towards retirement homes, whereas Generations X and Y demonstrated more favourable and positive values for retirement homes.
Originality/value
This study serves as a useful reference for housing developers, policymakers and the management of retirement homes to better understand how different age cohorts value retirement homes, thereby encouraging relevant housing strategies to enhance the quality and support systems of retirement homes in society.
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Atinuke Arinola Ajani and Daramola Thompson Olapade
The concept of aging-in-place has gained notable significance in the last decade due to a dramatic demographic shift in global population dynamics that have considerably affected…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of aging-in-place has gained notable significance in the last decade due to a dramatic demographic shift in global population dynamics that have considerably affected the ability of societies to adequately cater for their aging population. This paper examines some of the barriers to aging-in-place in the context of health needs, housing design and the role of retrofitting/smart home technologies in overcoming these barriers.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a narrative literature review approach, the authors undertook a comprehensive search of recent relevant literature focusing on five core thematic areas: health and aging, aging in place, barriers to aging in place, retrofitting and smart home technologies for successful aging in place. The authors entered appropriate keywords into interdisciplinary research databases and synthesized a coherent narrative discussing the thematic areas using the data extracted from the literature search.
Findings
There is a bidirectional relationship between aging and the home environment. Barriers to aging-in-place are mainly related to progressive decline in health, which alters the environmental needs of individuals. Appropriate building designs can significantly facilitate aging-in-place. The authors, therefore, highlight the role of retrofitting and smart home technologies as practical solutions to the challenges of the aging-in-place.
Practical implications
Forward planning in building design is essential to guarantee that the home environment is well adapted for the challenges of aging-in-place while also promoting healthy aging.
Originality/value
The paper shows the relationship between aging and the home environment and how building design considerations could enhance healthy aging-in-place.
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Vikki McCall, Kenneth Gibb and Yang Wang
The ageing and disabled population is fast growing, which emphasises the need to effectively modify current homes and environments to support healthy ageing and increasingly…
Abstract
Purpose
The ageing and disabled population is fast growing, which emphasises the need to effectively modify current homes and environments to support healthy ageing and increasingly diverse health needs. This paper aims to bring together findings and analyses from three adaptations-focussed projects, drawing on perspectives from key stakeholders alongside the lived experiences of service users acquiring adaptations.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an Adaptations Framework developed from interviews and focus groups with older people and key stakeholders, the paper discusses barriers experienced by older people and front-line workers in receiving and delivering adaptations through all stages of the process.
Findings
This paper reveals how experiences around adaptations might diverge with unseen, hidden investment and need amongst individuals, and how conceptual and cost-focussed evidence gaps impact wider understandings of adaptations delivery. In so doing, this paper highlights how the adaptations process is perceived as a “fight” that does not work smoothly for either those delivering or receiving adaptations services.
Research limitations/implications
The paper suggests a systematic failure such that the adaptations process needs to be rehauled, reset and prioritised within social and public policy if the housing, health and social care sectors are to support healthy ageing and prepare for the future ageing population.
Originality/value
The paper brings together insights from key stakeholders alongside service users' experiences of adaptations to highlight key policy drivers and barriers to accessing and delivering adaptations.
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Victor Olutope Ige and Solomon Pelumi Akinbogun
The design of buildings is crucial to functionality and safety for senior citizens. People often refrain from talking about old age and its related support; however, it is…
Abstract
Purpose
The design of buildings is crucial to functionality and safety for senior citizens. People often refrain from talking about old age and its related support; however, it is inevitable. The paper aims to highlight the essentials of a home design that considers the aged citizens in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research technique is used in the study. A closed-ended questionnaire and an interview were used to gather information on the requirements for aging-in-place basics in home design from middle-aged and elderly households.
Findings
Findings from the study revealed that a majority of the respondents considered old age as a phase of life to prioritize in home design. Lighting, furniture and fixtures and electrical installations are variously perceived by the respondents as aging-in-place essentials.
Practical implications
The study has far-reaching consequences for the built environment, particularly for homeowners. It is related to the third sustainable development goal (SDG), which seeks to secure the health and well-being of people of all ages.
Originality/value
The study's uniqueness and usefulness are highlighted in the gaps between present house design culture and the reality of senior citizen occupants' dwellings, as well as the appropriateness to satisfy changing demands associated with old age. It would encourage homes to develop the culture and duty of providing a sustainable home that is accessible to everybody and provides emotional and physical safety for the elderly.
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Liliana Sousa, Jéssica Fernandes, Pedro Sá-Couto and João Tavares
Companion animals and social media are two important factors of social interaction and well-being among the older population. This study aims to compare social media use and/or…
Abstract
Purpose
Companion animals and social media are two important factors of social interaction and well-being among the older population. This study aims to compare social media use and/or having companion animals with respect to sociodemographic variables in conjunction with loneliness, social isolation, depression, satisfaction with life and satisfaction with social support.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study involves a sample of 250 older community-dwelling adults. The questionnaire comprised sociodemographic, companion animals and social media questions and scales to assess social isolation, loneliness, satisfaction with life and social support and depression. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings
Four groups emerged: “companion animal/s, no social media” (37.6%); “none” (33.6%); “social media and companion animal/s” (14.4%); and “social media, no companion animal/s” (14.4%). Social media users (with or without companion animals) are the youngest and with higher levels of education; caregivers of companion animals (no social media use) are in-between in terms of age and level of education; and those without companion animals and no social media users are the oldest and with less formal education.
Originality/value
This research examines and compares two key influencers of older adults’ well-being and social interaction (social media and companion animals), that have been researched mostly separately. Findings underlined the cohort effect in the use of social media, suggesting that future older adult cohorts will use more social media whether they have or do not have companion animals.
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Joy Ato Nyarko, Joana Kwabena-Adade and Andrews Kwabena-Adade
The emergence of residential aged care facilities (RACFs) within the Ghanaian health-care system has raised eyebrows because, hitherto, the concept of nursing homes had largely…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of residential aged care facilities (RACFs) within the Ghanaian health-care system has raised eyebrows because, hitherto, the concept of nursing homes had largely been perceived as an anomaly. The purpose of this study is to understand this emerging phenomenon and the activities of care provided within two facilities in the nation’s capital, Accra.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on participant observations and in-depth interviews with purposively sampled 15 residents in the two facilities and eight caregivers. The data were analysed using thematic approach.
Findings
The study found that the daily forms of care mostly performed for the elderly were intimate and non-intimate physical, medical, emotional and spiritual and end-of-life care. The bulk of activities of care were performed in the morning.
Originality/value
The study reveals that the changing landscape of health-care facilities in Ghana to include RACFs indicates RACFs have come to stay to provide different forms of care to older persons who otherwise were cared for by the family.
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Ryan M. Carrick and Danielle Wadsworth
The purpose of this study is to investigate the transfer of learning among older adults and the importance of physical activity (PA) related to aging in place.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the transfer of learning among older adults and the importance of physical activity (PA) related to aging in place.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach examined 10 older adults aged 65–88, who were receiving occupational therapy and contemplating aging in place. Semistructured interviews determined participants' perceptions of aging in place and PA. Accelerometers assessed levels of PA over 14 days.
Findings
Interviews revealed that most participants were aware of the importance of PA but did not specify PA as being a primary contributor to continued independence with aging. Accelerometer data revealed that, on average, 96.7% of the day is spent in sedentary behavior.
Practical implications
Health-care professionals may ask the question, “What will my patient do with the information he or she has learned?” This study was useful to increase understanding of older adults’ learning, lifestyles and effects on aging independently.
Social implications
As older adults have true expectations of requirements for successful aging in place, realistic levels of PA and transfer of learning could improve the intended outcome of aging independently.
Originality/value
PA is often an overlooked factor for occupational engagement and aging in place and is novel to investigate in combination with interviews.
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Washiraporn Wannachot, Pimporn Phukrongpet, Kanokporn Rattanasuteerakul and Hanvedes Daovisan
This study aims to explore how social support has reshaped the care of older adults living alone in northeast Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how social support has reshaped the care of older adults living alone in northeast Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative method using a narrative gerontological perspective with a descriptive design. Purposive sampling was conducted from 20 in-depth narrative interviews between November 2021 and February 2022 in Maha Sarakham province, northeast Thailand. Data transcriptions were performed using a narrative analytical process.
Findings
The in-depth narrative interviews indicated that older adults living alone during the coronavirus pandemic valued a comfortable life, a sense of place, favourable living arrangements, self-reliance, life goals and meaningful life. The gerontological analysis showed that social support for older adults living alone included a social safety net, networking, supporting needs, physical care and mental health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative narrative gerontological study to explore how social support reshaped the care of older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic in northeast Thailand.
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Teresa Atkinson and Rebecca Oatley
The purpose of this paper is to present the views of people living with dementia in extra care housing (ECH). This is a model of housing with care and support aiming to support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the views of people living with dementia in extra care housing (ECH). This is a model of housing with care and support aiming to support older people, including those with dementia, to live independently. Previous research identifies benefits but is predominantly derived from third-party accounts, with the voices of those living with dementia in ECH significantly absent.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a qualitative approach conducting 100 interviews across 8 ECH schemes in England. Over half of the interviews were conducted with people living with dementia and their families with the remainder involving staff and commissioners.
Findings
Findings suggest there are a range of benefits including owning your own home, having a safe, age friendly location with flexible support, social interaction and continuing to live as a couple. Challenges included availability of staff, flexible resourcing, loneliness and the advancing symptoms of dementia.
Research limitations/implications
Despite efforts to create an inclusive, diverse sample, the participants were all White British. Participants involved were identified by gatekeepers, which may present some bias in the selection.
Practical implications
Whilst ECH offers benefits to people living with dementia, addressing the challenges is essential for effective dementia care. Improving staff training, promoting person-centred care and fostering an inclusive community are critical for enhancing residents’ well-being and quality of life.
Originality/value
This paper explored the lived experiences of residents and family members, providing new insight into the advantages and disadvantages of ECH for people living with dementia.
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Amitabh Anand, Liji James, Aparna Varma and Manoranjan Dhal
Ageism has deleteriously influenced individuals and society for nearly half a century. Despite receiving increased attention, it remains under-researched regarding how it might be…
Abstract
Purpose
Ageism has deleteriously influenced individuals and society for nearly half a century. Despite receiving increased attention, it remains under-researched regarding how it might be reduced in the workplace. Even though its prevalence and allure, review studies on workplace ageism (WA) are also scarce, and thus a review is warranted.
Design/methodology/approach
To fill the preceding void, this study will systematically review the existing literature on WA using data from the past four decades.
Findings
This study identified the various antecedents and the intervention mechanism through which WA may be reduced. Additionally, through reviews, the authors advance the research by offering promising avenues for future research.
Originality/value
This review contributes to human resources managers and will inspire future scholars to delve deeper into combating age discrimination, stereotypes and bias toward employees in workplaces.
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