Community support and ageing-in-place preference of low income elderly people

Abstract

Most ageing-in-place studies focused on individual and health determinants of nursing home admission. This study examines the roles of community support on ageing-in-home preference. Methods: We conducted face-to-face interview with 400 older people living in four low income neighborhoods. We also conducted four focus groups with older people living in these neighborhoods. We used multivariate regression to examine the association between community support and ageing-inplace preference of older people. Finding: 80% of respondents preferred to ageing in place even when they become frail. After controlling for demographic, socioeconomic characteristics, ADL and depression, those who received instrumental support from neighbors and those who lived in a community with an elderly center were significantly more likely to prefer staying in community even their health deteriorate. The effect size of neighborhood support was greater than living with family members. Implication: Neighbors and community support are essential for elders to age-in-place as they become frail.