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Housing Design and Community Care: How Home Modifications Reduce Care Needs of Older People and People with Disability

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  • Phillippa Carnemolla

    (School of Built Environment, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney, Harris St, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia)

  • Catherine Bridge

    (Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia)

Abstract

The extent to which housing design can minimise levels of community caregiving has remained largely unmeasured. This paper reports the potential for home modifications to reduce caregiving in the peoples’ homes, particularly older people and people with a disability. It contributes to new knowledge in understanding how housing can play a role in community caregiving and acknowledges the role of the built environment in managing care levels in ageing societies. This paper analyses self-reported care data from 157 Australian community care recipients (average age: 72 years) who had received home modifications within the past 6 months. A before/after comparison of care provided revealed that home modifications reduced hours of care provided by 42% per week. More detailed analysis revealed that the positive association of home modifications with care reduction is stronger with informal care (46% reduction) followed by formal care (16% reduction). These results suggest the role that home modifications, and housing design in general, play in reducing care needs in a community setting.

Suggested Citation

  • Phillippa Carnemolla & Catherine Bridge, 2019. "Housing Design and Community Care: How Home Modifications Reduce Care Needs of Older People and People with Disability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-12, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:11:p:1951-:d:236391
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wusi Zhou & Adekunle Sabitu Oyegoke & Ming Sun & Hailong Zhu, 2020. "Older Clients’ Pathway through the Adaptation System for Independent Living in the UK," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Dominika Zawadzka & Natalia Ratajczak-Szponik & Bożena Ostrowska, 2022. "Interdisciplinary Cooperation in Technical, Medical, and Social Sciences: A Focus on Creating Accessibility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Carlyn Ellison & Linda Struckmeyer & Mahshad Kazem-Zadeh & Nichole Campbell & Sherry Ahrentzen & Sherrilene Classen, 2021. "A Social-Ecological Approach to Identify Facilitators and Barriers of Home Modifications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-13, August.
    4. Maša Filipovič Hrast & Richard Sendi & Boštjan Kerbler, 2023. "Person–Environment Fit in Urban Neighbourhoods in Slovenia: Challenges and Coping Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Phillippa Carnemolla, 2022. "Apartment Living and Community Care: Experiences of People With Intellectual Disability, Their Families, and Support Staff," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 398-408.
    6. Na-Kyoung Hwang & Sun-Hwa Shim, 2021. "Use of Virtual Reality Technology to Support the Home Modification Process: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Ruttana Phetsitong & Patama Vapattanawong, 2022. "Reducing the Physical Burden of Older Persons’ Household Caregivers: The Effect of Household Handrail Provision," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-17, February.

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