Perceived Aspects of Home Environment and Home Modifications by Older People Living in Rural Areas

Cohabitants’ perspective on housing adaptations: a piece of the puzzle

“…The findings did not confirm the suggestion by Tanner et al (7) that the HA impacted negatively on the meaning of home or the homeliness of the dwelling, at least not from the perspective of the cohabitants. Functionality was put above aesthetics by all cohabitants, and in this respect, our findings are in line with Ahn and Ledge (31) who argue that a modified home environment does not necessarily impact on how the older person perceives the home environment. Even if some cohabitants raised concerns that a ramp could disrupt the aesthetics of the exterior and maybe reduce the property value at a future sale still, over time, once the HA was installed, this was no longer a concern.…”

“…Instead, it was described as a stepping stone. As older people constantly use different coping strategies to stay in their 'residential comfort zone' (31), it is reasonable to assume that after a problem is solved and the cohabitants are back in their comfort zones, the previous problem and coping strategy used becomes of little or no importance. This has clinical relevance, for example during follow-up on HA interventions; however, further research is needed to confirm our findings.…”

Safety of older people at home: An integrative literature review

“…When this is linked to the general trend to move nursing and care closer to home, the importance of a strategic approach to home safety, which includes perspectives of older people themselves, becomes evident. Older people have the right to remain at home if they wish (Ahn & Hegde, ; Petersson, Lilja, & Borell, ), and to do this, the safety aspects of the care at home are often managed with the help of service providers. This right parallels changes in health services throughout Europe, which are increasingly being delivered to people in their own homes where possible (Melander‐Wikman, Fältholm, & Gard, ; WHO, , 136).…”

“…Only a limited number of studies focus on safety at home, and these are mainly written from the perspectives of professional healthcare workers (Barstow, Bennett, & Vogtle, ). Earlier research on safety at home has been concerned with isolated issues such as medication problems (Bao, Shao, Bishop, Schackman, & Bruce, ), falls and home modification (Ahn & Hegde, ; Lord, Menz, & Sherrington, ). Examples include potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in homecare (Bao et al, ) and medication mismanagement.…”

“…Examples include potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in homecare (Bao et al, ) and medication mismanagement. In terms of falls, previous research has considered vulnerability, frailty and loss of vision related to falls risk (Yonge et al, ) and home modification has been researched in terms of low income, ethnic background and living arrangements that preclude home modifications (Ahn & Hegde, ). Inside the home wet floors, going barefoot and ill‐fitting footwear have also been considered falls risks (Kelsey et al, ).…”