Search

Relocation from the familiar living environment is a particularly risky transition event for old people with intellectual disability (ID); however, a change of environment has the potential to maintain or improve a person's social participation and self-determination in old age. The research project MUTIG aimed to analyze the frequency and destination of moving home of old persons with ID (≥50 years) in Westphalia for the years 2014 and 2015.The investigation was based on a secondary analysis of administrative data of all persons over 50 years who received any kind of social aid for integration from the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe. For each individual the address and support arrangements at the beginning and the end of the years 2014 and 2015 were compared.Approximately 5% of older people with ID changed address per year. People who moved to nursing homes had previously primarily lived in larger institutions or larger community-based group homes. The number of older persons with ID moving into or out of supported living arrangements was approximately equal.Older persons with ID should also be able to move to smaller supported settings and these settings should provide long-lasting living perspectives (aging in place). The pulling effect that nursing homes exert on residents in residential institutions or larger group homes is critically discussed.

The number of aged persons with intellectual disability (ID) in Germany is increasing; however, reliable data on the residential settings in which they live are missing. The aim of this study was to estimate how adults with ID of different age groups are distributed over the various residential settings using the example of Westphalia-Lippe.Administrative data on all adults with ID who received aid for social integration were statistically analyzed. Data on persons with ID in long-term nursing homes were collected via telephone interviews and questionnaires. Finally, the results were merged to obtain a comprehensive overview for Westphalia-Lippe.In Westphalia-Lippe aged persons with ID (≥65 years) rarely live independently but mostly with family members or in supported living arrangements. They are living in larger community-based homes or in residential institutions more frequently than younger persons with ID and one fifth have been living in nursing homes for a comparatively long period of time.Older persons with ID have so far hardly benefited from the increasing residential options for supported living. All forms of services and residential arrangements for persons with ID have to adapt to the changing needs for support in old age. Long-term nursing homes should not mutate into places where people spend the complete phase of old age.