Healthy Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: A Low-Cost Approach to Facilitating Healthy Aging

Abstract

Naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) are broadly defined as communities where individuals either remain or move when they retire. Using the determinants of health model as a base, we hypothesize that some environmental determinants have a different impact on people at different ages. Health benefits to living within NORCs have been observed and likely vary depending upon where the specific NORC exists on the NORC to healthy-NORC spectrum. Some NORC environments are healthier than others for seniors, because the NORC environment has characteristics associated with better health for seniors. Health benefits within healthy NORCs are higher where physical and social environments facilitate greater activity and promote feelings of well-being. Compared to the provision of additional medical or social services, healthy NORCs are a low-cost community-level approach to facilitating healthy aging. Municipal governments should pursue policies that stimulate and support the development of healthy NORCs.

Key characteristics of age-friendly cities and communities: A review

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Family Health and Care of Older Adults: Universal Solutions to Unique Caregiving Challenges

“…The unifying framework would facilitate access to both medical and long term supports and services. The continuum of choices would range from more traditional congregate settings to community based options like "naturally occurring retirement communities" (Masotti, Fick, Johnson-Masotti, & MacLeod, 2006) and "Villages," cooperativetype models in which neighbors band together to procure services (Butler & Diaz, 2015;Greenfield, Oberlink, Scharlach, Neal, & Stafford, 2015).…”

Intergenerational Service Learning: To Promote Active Aging, and Occupational Therapy Gerontology Practice

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