Self-rated importance and performance of current home environment by older people
C-S. Lin, H-J. Lee, J.L. Fozard
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AbstractBackground Most older people prefer to stay at their current home for the rest of their lives. With age-related loss of physical function, the existing design of their current housing environment may no longer meet their needs. Aim This study aims to investigate the self-rated importance of the safety and convenience of housing and evaluate the performance of their current home relative to those features. Method A 29 items questionnaire was administered to 385 residents 65 years and older. Using an importance-performance analysis (IPA), respondents rated the perceived importance of 29 attributes of barrier-free housing and rated the perceptions of their houses’ performance. Results The ratings of the attributes in their current home were lower than the rated importance of the attributes. An IPA quadrant grid identified attributes that were both high in importance and performance, for instance, stairs design; low in both, for instance, entrance without threshold; high in performance but low in importance, for instance, height of kitchen sink; and low in performance but high in importance, for instance, smoke detector are installed in kitchen. Conclusion The current residential environment for older people to live safely needs modifications.Keywords: aging in place, accessible home, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA)
C-S. Lin, H-J. Lee, J.L. Fozard (2016). Self-rated importance and performance of current home environment by older people. Gerontechnology, 14(4), 218-223
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2016.14.4.009.00