Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Feb;47(1):96-107.
doi: 10.1093/geront/47.1.96.

Relationships between housing and healthy aging in very old age

Frank Oswald  1 , Hans-Werner Wahl, Oliver Schilling, Carita Nygren, Agneta Fänge, Andrew Sixsmith, Judith Sixsmith, Zsuzsa Széman, Signe Tomsone, Susanne Iwarsson
Affiliations

Relationships between housing and healthy aging in very old age

Frank Oswald et al. Gerontologist. 2007 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between aspects of objective and perceived housing and aspects of healthy aging, defined as independence in daily activities and subjective well-being. Furthermore, this research examined the comparability of relationships between housing and healthy aging in the five European countries.

Design and methods: Data were drawn from the ENABLE-AGE Project, from home interviews with a sample of 1,918 very old people aged 75 to 89 years living alone in their own homes in Swedish, German, British, Hungarian and Latvian urban areas.

Results: Participants living in better accessible homes, who perceive their home as meaningful and useful, and who think that external influences are not responsible for their housing situation are more independent in daily activities and have a better sense of well-being. Moreover, these results apply to all five national samples.

Implications: The findings can widen the perspective when striving for barrier-free building standards, to encompass a holistic approach that takes both objective and perceived aspects of housing into account. Home modification and relocation should not be prescribed, but need to be negotiated with older adults to take into account their personal preferences.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types