A conceptual framework for examining the promise of the NORC program and Village models to promote aging in place

Integrating Services for Older People in Aging Communities in The Netherlands: A Comparison of Urban and Rural Approaches

“…2 The wider literature further suggests that the rationale for services integration is especially strong in naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs; e.g., Bedney et al, 2010;Greenfield, 2013;Greenfield et al, 2012). In NORCs, advancing age and frailty often intersect with low-income positions and a poor accessibility of the built environment, rendering elderly a higher chance of having unmet care needs.…”

“…Therefore, attention has also been drawn to the social learning processes that take place in areas with services integration, through which, in the long term, social transformation can occur (Bedney et al, 2010). The most promising route into effectuating aging in place is to connect policies and practices of services integration to a wider knowledge of the aging community (Greenfield, 2013;Greenfield et al, 2012). This can be achieved when links and relations are improved not only between service providers, but also between leading professionals and older dwellers, and between older dwellers themselves (Greenfield, 2013;Greenfield et al, 2012).…”

“…The most promising route into effectuating aging in place is to connect policies and practices of services integration to a wider knowledge of the aging community (Greenfield, 2013;Greenfield et al, 2012). This can be achieved when links and relations are improved not only between service providers, but also between leading professionals and older dwellers, and between older dwellers themselves (Greenfield, 2013;Greenfield et al, 2012). In the vocabulary of humanistic geographers, this is about fostering "insideness": a profound geographical knowledge of the local environment and community, and, in this case, the aging experiences and care needs of local older dwellers (Relph, 1976;see also Cresswell, 2013).…”

“…Over the years, efforts to support aging in place at the community or neighborhood level have been documented from within different corners of the social sciences, including environmental gerontology, health geography, and health services research (Ahrentzen, 2010;Bedney, Goldberg, & Josephson, 2010;Day, 2008;Evans, 2009;Greenfield, 2013;Greenfield, Scharlach, Lehning, & Davitt, 2012;Keating & Philips, 2008;Kietzman, Wallace, Durazo, Torres, Choi, Benjamin, & Mendez-Luck, 2012;Lawton, 1985;Lui, Everingham, Warburton, Cuthill, & Bartlett, 2009;Menec, Means, Keating, Parkhurst, & Eales, 2011;Phillips, Siu, Yeh, & Cheng, 2005;Smith, 2009;Tang & Pickard, 2008;Verma & Huttunen, 2015). This interdisciplinary literature has reported about interventions to improve the quality of the physical and social care environment (e.g., care-intensive forms of housing, adaptations to original homes, safe walking environments, meeting spaces, and strategies for social inclusion, amongst others) while also urging for the involvement of older dwellers through listening to their needs or building long-term collaborations (Everingham, Warburton, Cuthill, & Bartlett, 2012;Walsh & O'Shea, 2008;Warburton, Everingham, Cuthill, Bartlett, & Underwood, 2011).…”

A Tale of Two Community Initiatives for Promoting Aging in Place: Similarities and Differences in the National Implementation of NORC Programs and Villages

“…Based on prior theoretical descriptions, the Village and NORC program models appear to share a number of essential features, including an emphasis on promoting aging in place; serving a geographically defined service area; coordinating efforts of voluntary and formal support systems; enhancing social capital among older adults; promoting consumer engagement; and enhancing the availability, accessibility, and affordability of existing services (Greenfield, Scharlach, Lehning, & Davitt, 2012). These features reflect a number of emerging trends in aging services designed to enhance older adults' health and well-being, as well as improving service delivery systems-such as consumer direction (Carlson, Foster, Dale, & Brown, 2007), colocating services where people live (Golant, 2008), service integration (Burns & Pauly, 2002), and facilitating older adults' civic engagement (Kaskie, Imhof, Cavanaugh, & Culp, 2008).…”