Health profile of residents of retirement villages in Auckland, New Zealand: findings from a cross-sectional survey with health assessment

Abstract

ObjectivesRetirement villages (RV) have expanded rapidly, now housing perhaps one in eight people aged 75+ years in New Zealand. Health service initiatives might better support residents and offer cost advantages, but little is known of resident demographics, health status or needs. This study describes village residents—their demographics, socio-behavioural and health status—noting differences between participants who volunteered and those who were sampled.DesignCross-sectional study of village residents. The cohort formed will also be used for a longitudinal study and a randomised controlled trial. Village managers (sometimes after consulting residents) decided if representative sampling could be undertaken in each village. Where sampling was not approved, volunteers were sought.Setting33 RV were included from a total of 65 villages in Auckland, New Zealand.ParticipantsResidents (n=578) were recruited either by sampling (n=217) or as volunteers (n=361) during 2016–2018. Each completed a survey and an International Resident Assessment Instrument (interRAI) health needs assessment with a gerontology nurse specialist.ResultsMedian age of residents was 82 years, 158 (27%) were men; 61% lived alone. Downsizing (77%), less stress (63%) and access to healthcare assistance (61%) were most common reasons for entry. During the 2 weeks prior to survey, 34% received home supports and 10% personal care. Hypertension, heart disease, arthritis and pain were reported by over 40%. Most common unmet needs related to managing cardiorespiratory symptoms (50%) and pain (48%). Volunteers and sampled residents differed significantly, mainly in socio-behavioural respects.ConclusionsCommon conditions including hypertension, arthritis and atrial fibrillation, are recorded in interRAI as text, and thus overlooked in interRAI reports. Levels of unmet need indicate opportunities to improve health services to better manage chronic conditions. Healthcare service providers and village operators could cooperate to design and test service initiatives that better meet residents’ needs and offer cost benefits.Trial registration numberACTRN12616000685415.

An interRAI‐derived frailty index is associated with prior hospitalisations in older adults residing in retirement villages

“…Mean FI in that study (0.27) was higher than in the current study; however, this is unsurprising given participants in the Canterbury study were specifically assessed for access to government‐funded community supports or residential care admission. In the current study, 34% of participants were receiving household assistance and 10% personal care supports 23 . Results from the current study may therefore be closer to the prevalence of frailty in older adults in the wider community in NZ.…”

Impact of Two Different Recruitment Procedures (Random vs. Volunteer Selection) on the Results of Seroepidemiological Study (SARS-CoV-2)

“…With regard to the structure of examined groups, our results confirmed a larger participation of women and younger people among volunteers and this finding was consistent with previous observations in this regard [1,14]. This finding was also in line with the results of other cross-sectional studies concerned with different goals of public health, in which females engage more frequently [14][15][16][17]. Importantly, within our study and compared with randomly selected subjects, the volunteers had a significantly higher percentage of positive IgG test results, probably due to their more frequent contact with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.…”

“…As mentioned above, the volunteer bias shown in our study affected all pertinent aspects of research, starting with the baseline description of the subjects. Such an observation was similar to the results of the New Zealand study in which volunteers and sampled subjects differed significantly, mainly in socio-behavioral respects [ 15 ]. In another current publication, the authors concluded that depending on the sampling location and time, people who are present to be sampled may be at a higher or lower risk of COVID-19 than the average risk in the source population [ 18 ].…”

An interRAI derived frailty index predicts acute hospitalizations in older adults residing in retirement villages: A prospective cohort study

“…RVs offer a range of facilities and supports, varying from stand-alone secure units, to home/personal care and healthcare supports, with many in NZ also having long-term residential care (LTC) amenities, such as nursing home/private hospital, dementia and psychogeriatric care, on-site. The perceived availability of health and care supports is one of several deciding factors for relocation to RVs identified in those financially able to choose RV lifestyles [ 2 , 3 ]. Our earlier research suggests many residing in RVs live with considerable unmet health needs and symptoms [ 2 , 4 ], and may represent those with greater dependency than their community-dwelling peers.…”

“…The perceived availability of health and care supports is one of several deciding factors for relocation to RVs identified in those financially able to choose RV lifestyles [ 2 , 3 ]. Our earlier research suggests many residing in RVs live with considerable unmet health needs and symptoms [ 2 , 4 ], and may represent those with greater dependency than their community-dwelling peers. Consistent with this, some frail older adults perceive RV living as an alternative to LTC [ 5 ].…”