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This paper arises from research, funded by the Housing Corporation and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, which investigated the housing needs and priorities of visually impaired people of working age, a population that has received little public policy attention. We report on the housing circumstances and aspirations of 121 people living in London. In-depth study discovered that people of working age who have vision impairment can be disadvantaged by inflexible procedures that adversely affect their transition to independence, as well as their self-determination with respect to family issues. The study also learned that this population has particular needs in relation to domestic and outside space, home location and safety and security measures. Furthermore, the interviewees indicated that specialist supported housing may develop a stronger role if it diversifies and provides non-institutional stepping stones towards greater autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports findings from two linked projects. The first examined the housing, support and care needs of 400 visually impaired people aged 55 and over. The second looked at the housing and support needs of 121 adults aged 18–55. Only one-half of younger informants and just over half of older informants had made physical alterations to their home to manage with impaired sight. A quarter of older people and three in ten younger people made no use whatsoever of aids or assistive technology. A lack of basic information prevented both groups from taking informed decisions about obtaining and adapting their accommodation. These findings challenge housing and service providers to devise innovative, person-centred and cost-effective solutions that improve the quality of life for adults of all ages with impaired vision. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: This paper asks how the introduction of "smart" digital technologies might affect the goals that can be attributed to telecare for older people, by those coordinating its provision. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 29 in-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with local authorities, housing associations and other organisations coordinating smart telecare provision, as well as telecare manufacturers and suppliers. Interviews were analysed by using qualitative thematic analysis. Findings: The analysis reveals discrepancies between the goals and outcomes of smart telecare provision, according to those coordinating service delivery. This study concludes that the goal for smart telecare to be preventative and cost-efficient may be complicated by various organisational and operational challenges associated with coordinating provision. Originality/value: New, "smart" telecare technology for older people stands apart from earlier, user-activated or automatic devices. It may have distinct and under-researched organisational and ethical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individualized funding of disability support services has implications for people's choices about when to share their home. This paper examines how people with disabilities made choices about who to live with and the factors influencing these choices. This paper discusses data from interviews with 30 people with mostly intellectual disabilities using individualized support services, 21 interviews with family members, four interviews with service managers, and a focus group with five support workers. The data come from a large evaluation of individualized housing support programs in New South Wales, Australia. Only some people had the opportunity to choose whether to share and with whom. Their choices were constrained by the range of housing options and their limited experience of them, even when they had support to make choices about shared housing or living alone. In some cases, the choices reflected a conceptualization of people with disabilities as different to other citizens in their rights and expectations about their social arrangements. The results have implications for information sharing, housing stock, and the need to challenge the positioning of people with disabilities relative to other people regarding choices about where and with whom to live. Many people preferred not to live alone, so as to improve their economic and social circumstances, and their choice and control. The choices about shared housing that many people and their supporters made were constrained by their limited experience of housing options or their familiarity with the range of choices made by other people with disabilities. Being able to draw on the material, social, and information resources of family made a big difference to their housing choices. It raises questions for policy implementation about whether individualized support may lock some people into shared housing arrangements by failing to include housing costs in the individual package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lifetime home standards (LTHS) are a set of standards aimed at making homes more accessible. Previous research, however, indicates that LTHS do not adequately meet the needs of those with sensory impairments. Now, with visual impairment set to increase globally and acknowledging the recognised link between quality of dwelling and wellbeing, this article aims to examine the experiences of visually impaired people living in lifetime homes. The objectives are to investigate existing lifetime homes and to identify whether LTHS meet occupants’ needs. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with six visually impaired people living in homes designed to LTHS in Northern Ireland. Collected data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis identifying three super-ordinate themes: (1) living with visual impairment; (2) design considerations and (3) coping strategies. A core theme of balance between psychological and physical needs emerged through interconnection of super-ordinate themes. Although there are benefits to living in lifetime homes, negative aspects are also apparent with occupants employing several coping strategies to overcome difficulties. Whilst residents experience negative emotions following visual impairment diagnoses, results suggest that occupants still regard their homes as key places of security and comfort in addition to then highlighting the need for greater consideration of specific individual needs within general guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine sheltered housing tenants' views of health and well-being, the strategies they adopted to support their well-being, and their use of health and social care services through a Health Needs Assessment. Sheltered housing in the UK is a form of service-integrated housing for people, predominantly over 60. The study used a parallel, three-strand mixed method approach to encompass the tenants' perceptions of health and well-being ( n = 96 participants), analysis of the service's health and well-being database, and analysis of emergency and elective hospital admissions ( n = 978 tenant data sets for the period January to December 2012). Tenants' perceptions of well-being were seen to reinforce much of the previous work on the subject with strategies required to sustain social, community, physical, economic, environmental, leisure, emotional and spiritual dimensions. Of the tenants' self-reported chronic conditions, arthritis, heart conditions and breathing problems were identified as their most common health concerns. Hospital admission data indicated that 43% of the tenant population was admitted to hospital (886 admissions) with 53% emergency and 47% elective admissions. The potential cost of emergency as opposed to elective admissions was substantial. The mean length of stay for emergency admissions was 8.2 days (median 3.0 days). While elective hospital admission had a mean length of stay of 1.0 day (median 0.0 days). These results suggest the need for multi-professional health, social care and housing services interventions to facilitate sheltered housing tenants' aspirations and support their strategies to live well and independently in their own homes. Equally there is a need to increase tenants' awareness of health conditions and their management, the importance of services which offer facilitation, resources and support, and the key role played by prevention and reablement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research examines senses of home in aging, focusing on built and care environments. In parallel, a body of work examines housing governance, reviewing degrees of resident satisfaction. However, there is little crossover between this work, with governance research only rarely considering senses of home. This article argues for attention to the interconnections between provider-scale housing governance and senses of home in older age, arguing that governance mechanisms structure the housing context and provide the framework through which home is experienced and lived. Through a case study of a small, affordable housing community in Sydney, Australia, it shows that housing governance can profoundly shape senses of home in aging, both contributing to and diminishing senses of home. Further, it points to a connection between housing governance and housing design with different housing typologies associated with different aging bodies and forms of management practice, with profound implications for residents' senses of home. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents the archaeological evidence for a comprehensive change in the residential pattern of late antique Mérida, Spain (Augusta Emerita) in the second half of the fifth century AD. By the fourth century AD, the peristyle house had become the fundamental unit of aristocratic late Roman housing, offering the ideal setting for high-status interactions, aristocratic ceremony, and even private and public business. The peristyle house was gradually replaced by subdivision housing in the course of the fifth and sixth centuries, in a trend seen throughout the late Roman world. In Emerita, however, the transition was quite sudden. Here, a destructive event in the middle of the fifth century paved the way for the rapid introduction of subdivision housing, over just a few decades. While this new style of housing was typical of the late antique world, the evidence from Emerita highlights the role that a local catalyst might play in the adoption of new cultural forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the housing priorities of families living with persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI).Method: A new tool, the psycho-environmental housing priorities (PEHP), was developed following the principles of Q-methodology and based on the psycho-environmental model. The PEHP includes 48 items concerning housing needs that were presented to 29 persons with SCI and to 30 of their household members to determine the more important needs in their home.Results: Four different profiles of housing priorities emerged from the analysis, with persons with SCI and household members being dispersed across these profiles. Some needs, such as social contact and security, were identified as priorities in all the profiles while others, such as pleasure, were unique to some profiles.Conclusions: Our study highlights the heterogeneity of housing needs and the importance of addressing each family as unique when considering housing. The results also show that some housing needs ought to be considered because they were identified as important by everyone. Rehabilitation professionals could use the PEHP as a tool to help households living with a person with SCI plan their housing modifications to better meet the needs of all inhabitants.Implications for RehabilitationSpinal cord injury causes impairment that significantly alters the relationship with the housing environment and modifies the relative importance of housing needs.Persons with SCI and household members have varying housing needs, as suggested by the identification of four distinct profiles of housing priorities using the psycho-environmental housing priorities (PEHP).The security and social contact needs emerge as important in all profiles and may be considered “universal needs”.Rehabilitation professionals may use the PEHP as a tool to help households living with a person with SCI plan their housing modifications, for instance to identify compatible and conflicting priorities, and develop solutions agreeable to everyone.Using PEHP in the modification process could contribute to the household’s feeling of autonomy and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To support decision making regarding modifications to the current housing stock, this article explores older people's everyday lived experience of the house in the Netherlands. Twelve in-depth interviews were carried out, using diaries and a topic list. The study found physical, personal and social dimensions of experience that turn a house into a meaningful place in which to live. Although the study focused on the experience of the house as a home, all participants spoke about the importance of the neighbourhood. We therefore suggest that a personalised approach should be adopted in any modification of the current housing stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As populations age, increased focus is given to the importance of enabling older people to age in place. The study reported in this paper explored the extent to which older people considered their homes and neighbourhoods to be ‘supportive’, and sought to increase understanding of the needs and experiences of older people and their expectations of future housing needs. This paper reports qualitative data from the Housing and Independent Living (HAIL) study carried out in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 202 community-dwelling people aged 75–79 years. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using computer-assisted qualitative analysis and a narrative approach to identify broad themes. Thematic analysis was used to examine and understand how occupants subjectively viewed their homes, and how they planned to adapt/modify either their activities or homes to accommodate changing needs. Six key themes emerged, namely housing choice, attachment to place, financial issues, changes to the home over time, transport, and anticipating the future. In this study, people who most strongly identified with and felt connected to their neighbours/communities had more positive perceptions of their homes and communities, and may be better able to remain in their home despite increasing disability or frailty. Housing policies and home and urban design should ensure home and neighbourhood environments are safe, accessible, promote positive associations, and are adaptable to facilitate independence and accommodate change as people age. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Inactive lifestyles have negative health consequences, while time spent sedentary (sitting and lying) is related to morbidity and premature mortality. Older adults often form the most sedentary segment of the population. Much of this behaviour may be practised at home where this group can spend extended periods. Physical activity rates among older adults are particularly low. Even household physical activities can be beneficial for this group, while they can constitute much of an older person's total activity. Despite this context, the home's role in the active and sedentary behaviours of the older population appears critically understudied. Using interview and focus group data collected from 22 older adults (healthy volunteers, stroke survivors and people with dementia), this paper begins to address this issue. Aspects of the home that aid or impede a more active, less sedentary lifestyle are identified with three presenting particular capacity in this respect discussed: steps, space within the home, and the location and form of facilities, fixtures and fittings. The crucial role health status plays in structuring this capacity is identified. Simple design recommendations, devised to support older people to lead more active lives at home, are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To identify the extent to which homes and neighbourhoods of older community-dwelling people are 'supportive'. Method Cross-sectional survey, in-home observation and interviews involving 202 participants (75-79 years). Measures included SF-36 health-related quality of life and Late Life Function and Disability Instrument ( LLFDI) scores, and self-reported home usability, access, safety and neighbourhood. Associations between home and neighbourhood characteristics were assessed using χ2-tests, t-tests and Pearson correlations. Results Older people rated neighbourhood satisfaction highly (3.0 men, 3.2 women; 4 being the highest score). Many homes failed objective adaptability and safety ratings, particularly bathrooms (80% did not have a shower grab rail, 77% did not have non-slip floors); 27% of homes scored ≥8 of 25 possible hazards. There were significant correlations between perceptions of housing and neighbourhood and SF-36 and disability scores. Conclusion Many homes and neighbourhoods may not accommodate increased frailty or disability of older people into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People in advanced old age with frailties and those who are resident in old-age institutions manage their identities within the constraints of stigmatised settings. This paper compares the processes of identity construction in an old-age home and in a sheltered housing project for older people in Israel. Applying a symbolic-interactionist perspective that sees old-age institutions as social arenas for the reconstruction of identity, the paper first distinguishes the residents' constructions of stigma and deviance. While the old-age home residents collectively turned their stigma into a source of positive labelling, the sheltered housing residents drew advantages from their previous roles and statuses. Gossip is shown to play a critical role in reproducing stigma, particularly in the old-age home. These findings are used to demonstrate the variability and potential for adaptation among the residents-who are often stereotyped as homogeneous and passive. The paper concludes with a discussion of the literal and metaphorical languages used by older people, and of stigma as a positive instrument that can introduce content into the definition of the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While aspects of the home may provide for privacy, sanctuary, security and other aspects of 'ideal' domestic habitation, such provisions are always conditional, contingent, never secure and likely to be challenged by, amongst other things, the onset and development of bodily impairment. However, explorations of the meaning of the home, and housing studies more generally, rarely consider the body and impairment and its interactions with domestic space. This is curious because impairment is a significant, and intrinsic, condition of human existence and can affect anyone at any time. The paper develops the argument that a person's feelings about, and experiences of, the home cannot be dissociated from their corporeality or the organic matter and material of the body. Thus, the quality of domestic life, and housing quality more generally, has to be understood, in part, with reference to the body and conceptions of corporeality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines older people's everyday routines and their implications for older people's uses and perceptions of domestic spaces in both mainstream and sheltered housing settings. It draws from qualitative data collected during a large-scale survey of the housing and support needs of older people, and specifically the responses of 60 informants to personal interviews. The findings are that domestic spaces have a significant influence on the scope that older people have to retain a sense of self-determination. It is shown that environmental defects, such as poorly configured domestic spaces, have consequences for older people's sense of continuity and choice. The conclusions are that domestic spaces are living spaces that embody personal and family-oriented priorities. It is suggested that older people require adequate, accessible and personalised domestic spaces in order to facilitate three important objectives: routines, responsibilities and reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]