Developing an integrated indoor built environment–quality of life model for the elderly in public and subsidized housing
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 10 July 2019
Issue publication date: 2 August 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The growth rate of the aging population raises the demand for and challenges of public and subsidized (P&S) housing for the elderly. The decline in elderly ability increases their dependence on the quality of facilities provided by their residential apartment. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated indoor built environment–quality of life model for the elderly in P&S housing estates.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey, including scales for 4 quality of life (QoL) domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships and overall QoL), and 13 indoor built environment (BE) components were identified. In total, 365 survey data were collected from the elderly in 18 political districts of Hong Kong, while reliability analysis, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling were adopted in the data analysis.
Findings
Based on the congruence of results of these statistical analyses, it was revealed that: furniture and fixtures predict all the four QoL domains of the elderly; lighting and color induce social relationships; and overall QoL is predicted by distance and handrails.
Originality/value
Several recommendations were made in accordance with the research results, such as review minimum spacing requirements to provide walking distance for elderly physical activity, investigate the micro-climate for appropriate building orientation, consider the changing body size of the elderly for supply of furniture, use warm colors with high levels of illumination, and so on.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. CityU 114512).
Citation
Leung, M.-y., Famakin, I.O. and Wang, C. (2019), "Developing an integrated indoor built environment–quality of life model for the elderly in public and subsidized housing", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 26 No. 7, pp. 1498-1517. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-02-2018-0054
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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