Deciding to move into extra care housing: residents’ views

Abstract

Extra care housing aims to meet the housing, care and support needs of older people, while helping them to maintain their independence in their own private accommodation. In , the Department of Health announced capital funding to support the development of extra care housing, and made the receipt of funding conditional on participating in an evaluative study. Drawing on information collected directly from residents in  schemes, this paper presents findings on the factors motivating older people to move to extra care housing, their expectations of living in this new environment, and whether these differ for residents moving to the smaller schemes or larger retirement villages. In total,  people responded,  who had moved into the smaller schemes and  into the villages. Of the residents who moved into the villages most (%) had not received a care assessment prior to moving in, and had no identified care need. There was evidence that residents with care needs were influenced as much by some of the attractions of their new living environment as those without care needs who moved to the retirement villages. The most important attractions of extra care housing for the vast majority of residents were: tenancy rights, flexible onsite care and support, security offered by the scheme and accessible living arrangements. The results suggest that, overall, residents with care needs seem to move proactively when independent living was proving difficult rather than when staying put is no longer an option. A resident's level of dependency did not necessarily influence the importance attached to various push and/or pull factors. This is a more positive portrayal of residents' reasons for moving to smaller schemes than in previous UK literature, although moves did also relate to residents' increasing health and mobility problems. In comparison, type of tenure and availability of social/leisure facilities were more often identified as important by those without care needs in the villages. Therefore, as in other literature, the moves of village residents without care needs seemed to be planned ones mostly towards facilities and in anticipation of the need for care services in the future.KEY WORDS -extra care housing, older people, relocation, decision to move, push and pull factors.

Improving housing outcomes: the value of advice and support for vulnerable older people

“…that older people with care needs who move to smaller extra care schemes are a passive audience who fail to make decisions about their future accommodation needs is not supported by this or other studies (Baumker et al 2012 pp. 1237) (emphasis added).…”

“…they are in a position to change their housing situation to better meet their desires and needs (Baumker et al 2012). Peace et al (2007) suggest that an 'environmental press' ultimately pushes people towards searching available housing options and most older people are able to take action.…”

“…Peace et al (2007) suggest that an 'environmental press' ultimately pushes people towards searching available housing options and most older people are able to take action. As Baumker et al (2012) found in their research, most people 'wanted to optimise their mastery over their environment and, when it appeared right to do so, considered the next step to proactively optimise their environment and enhance their 'environmental richness'' (pp. 1240).…”

“…These households were thus in a strong position to execute their decision as well as plan ahead for future care needs and invariably moved in anticipation of worsening abilities. As Baumker et al (2012) contend, they wanted their research to highlight a positive portrayal of reasons for moving, and as with other studies, their research was a reaction to 'the one-sided model of older people as pawns of environmental circumstances' (pp. 1221).…”

“…The paper builds upon previous academic studies that have examined older people's housing decisions (see Erickson et al 2006;Baumker et al 2012). Whilst these quantitative studies provide insights into the factors that influence older households' decisions to move, their focus has primarily centred upon individuals that can make decisions, have choices and are able to act upon them.…”