Designing for the Life Span Segment 4

Slide 69 Content

Conclusions Related to Aging in Place:

The concept of neighborhood differs depending upon whether the older adult is rural, suburban or an urban dweller - "home range" for the rural older adult is determined by the ability to drive a car and may be a city block for the urban older adult;
"Aging in Place" means affording older adults the independence of choice, choice to remain in one's own home and caring for one's self - even with assistance and technological support;
Aging in place is arguably cheaper than moving older adults into some form of managed care that may vary in intrusiveness and cost;
Continuance in a residence over time means having the ability and the inclination to make home modifications that will enable extended independence;
The ability to access and utilize the home environment changes - even if the home itself goes unchanged;
The micro-environment of products and appliances present significant problems in terms of operationality owing to insensitive control and display design - an issue for manufacturers that they are only beginning to realize.

Aging in place is an important philosophy of care and design response. Important aspects of aging in place include...