As an undergraduate student, I was inspired to become a gerontologist after learning about the 1976 research study in which psychologists Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin investigated the effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged, which resulted in a groundbreaking study on the impact of loneliness on seniors. They selected two floors of a nursing home. One group was told the staff was there to help them. Despite the care, 71 percent got worse in co-morbidity quality indicators in only three weeks. On the other floor, where seniors were encouraged to make decisions for themselves, 93 percent of the residents improved their quality of life. They were more active and happier. They were more mentally alert and more engaged in activities.
Today the aged care industry is changing dramatically around the globe – and a shift towards personal responsibility and societal interaction is at the forefront of this revolution.
Nursing homes are being replaced with centres of living, designed as small households where perhaps a dozen people live together. They share meals around a large dining room table, with an open kitchen and access to food 24/7. The seniors choose what they want to do and when they want to do it. The small homes have no characteristic features of a traditional nursing home. There is no central nursing station and no long corridors or bright fluorescent lights. Residents are not rushed to make it to a meal on time. Such revolutionary models are disrupting the aged-care sector and, in some markets, traditional old-age institutions are reinventing themselves as small homes or closing down.
We are also seeing homes for the aged being built in the midst of residential neighbourhoods, creating a community hub not just for seniors but also for middle-aged adults, young adults and children. These vibrant town centres are complete with community amenities such as libraries, pools, restaurants, child care, schools, and senior wellness centres.
In a Netherland’s university, it was found that student dormitories were full, but a nearby home for the aged had vacant suites. Students were invited to move in with the seniors, and soon became actively engaged in the new multigenerational community. This movement has morphed across Europe, where families live nearby, becoming volunteers supporting seniors while their kids adopt a senior as a grandparent.
The more famous dementia village, a short-train ride from Amsterdam, turned the nursing home upside down with its small-house concept of six people living in a household with walkable access to a complete village within a secured perimeter. The most innovative aspect of this community is the general store where seniors, accompanied by a caregiver, shop each day for the household groceries and supplies. These seniors, most of whom have advanced dementia, are experiencing industry leading aged care a generation ahead of its time.
In Tokyo Japan, 10 centenarians with dementia live together in a group home where their daily choices include meals, walking exercises, and meaningful activities. Seniors are retrained so they longer use incontinence pads, saving money while improving dignity, self-esteem and quality of life. Physiotherapists mobilize seniors out of their wheelchairs to walk with mobility aides.
The Village Movement is an offshoot of the sharing economy. Hundreds of online virtual villages are popping up all over the United States with more on the drawing boards. These villages are low-cost ways to age in place and can delay going to assisted-living facilities. The core of these villages is referrals to household repair services, yardwork, picking up prescriptions or taking members shopping, to the doctor or even personal trainers.
Another innovative living option is senior cohousing, which is also focused on aging well in community. Residents design and manage senior cohousing themselves relying on mutual support and a resident caregiver they hire as needed. Communities are designed for physical accessibility as well as financial, environmental, and social sustainability.
We have come a long way from how our grandparents were housed and treated. With the research and understanding now emerging, seniors housing is becoming more welcoming and healthy for future generations.
Hello, I am an AGNG 320 student at the Erickson School of Aging and we recently (last week) discussed End-of-Life Care. Nursing homes have been the primary form of End-of-Life Care for a very long time. But as you mentioned, there are newer, more innovative forms cropping along. Nursing homes tend to be quite expensive (more than $80,000 a year) and are not seen as true homes. Since they are heavily regulated, these institutions are seen and ran as such (Haber, 385). However, these newer alternate choices to nursing homes, such as these villages movements may be great ideas. They allow the resident to have more sense of identity and control over their lives. As you mentioned, they are allowed to shop, with caregiver support, for themselves and live, in a community, of their choosing. This will allow for much higher happiness levels within the community and allow for these residents to not feel discarded.
Haber, D. (2016). Health promotion and aging: practical applications for health professionals. New York: Springer Publishing.
Nisar, thank you for your insightful comments, choices indeed enhance so many aspects of life and reaffirm our sense of personhood! Dan
I am an AGNG 320 student at the Erickson School of Aging. In our class, the goal is essentially to really open our eyes to the aging process. We have learned about different conditions as well as how to improve the quality of life as we age. Improving the quality of life means to life a healthy lifestyle, mentally and physically. I really enjoyed this post because I found it very fascinating to see how many different kinds of living there are today for the elderly community. I especially like how these living arrangements allow for the residents to maintain some sort of independence, while having a community to fall back on and get support from. I worked as a CNA in a nursing home, and have seen how each resident has benefited from having a roommate. I also saw how having different activities going on can really uplift the mood of the residents. I really enjoyed reading this post and actually learned a lot. Thank you!
Hi! I am an Aging 320 student at the Erickson School of Aging and I thought this post was really interesting. In our class, not only are we studying the different types of ailments that may affect older adults, we are also problem solving creative ways to help older adults live the most healthy life possible for as long as possible. I loved reading about the different types of creative housing that are being developed to help older adults live independently longer. This is a really important issue, and I think that if more people concentrated on the development of housing communities for older adults which allowed them to live more independently, then we would have a healthier elder population overall. In our class we have discussed the many health benefits of having older people live independently for as long as they possibly can. Not only will communities like this keep them physically independent, they will also help keeps these individuals mentally independent and healthy. Often times, we can see older adults decline because they are depressed that they are unable to care for themselves or their partners. Keeping adults healthy mentally is just as important as keeping them healthy physically to help ensure the highest quality of life. Thank you for this great post!
It is inspiring to hear about these new living communities and hope they have a fighting chance of becoming prevalent in the US. I wish I felt more optimistic.
I live in Los Angeles where real estate costs are prohibitive, making it difficult to establish smaller group homes and the like, while also enabling them to be affordable for say, someone living on their SS check.
What I see here in LA is a simply impossible wait list or lottery system for the few really nice low cost older adult communities that do exist. Many people just can’t seem to find a way in.
How can we afford to create these kind of innovative living communities in American cities where the cost of real estate is steep and still make them affordable?
Countries like Holland, with strong social systems seem at such an advantage to Americans. They have government support in creating unique and humane living solutions for its aging population. Our government? Unfortunately, I see many obstacles in the US to what you are describing.