Reducing Health Risks and Psychological Distress Among Older Black Residents of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities

Abstract

Studies indicate that living alone, or living in anonymous housing complexes-such as Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs)-can produce feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can negatively affect psychological well-being and physical health. Little is known about how NORCs, occupied by relatively poor older minorities may provide a context for low-cost interventions directed at enhancing well-being and therefore health. Given that traditional health education interventions have been ineffective among minority seniors, the goal of this study is to introduce a low-cost, on-site psycho-educational health intervention program to older NORC residents, that includes: (1) a formal health education component to encourage good health (health behavior), and (2) an informal recreational component focusing on peoples' psychological well-being (social facilitation). research question is: "Would social facilitation improve psychological well-being and health?" Forty-five aging Black residents of two NORCs were assigned to either an intervention condition for 8-weeks (group 1, n = 26) or a control condition (group 2, n = 19). Group 1 was expected to show improvement in psychological well-being and health, and such improvements were expected to be retained well after the sessions. Data were gathered from both groups, at baseline, post intervention, and 2 months following the intervention. Results indicate that there was a significant time by treatment effect for well-being. There was no significant time by treatment effect, but there was a significant treatment effect for health behaviors. This shows that short-term psycho-educational intervention can positively affect the quality of life of older minority residents of NORCs.

Sustainable Urban Development for Older Australians: Understanding the Formation of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in the Greater Brisbane Region

“…In the place of origin, the US Federal Government, through Title IV of the Older Americans Act, recognised NORCs as 'communities in which at least 40% of the heads of households are older individuals' [25]. According to prior studies, 'resident', 'head of household', 'old adult' and 'house owners and renters' are the most frequently used concepts (and their datasets) in identifying NORCs [13,14,26]. The most widely cited definition of NORCs is 'communities in which at least 40% of the heads of households are older individuals'.…”

“…For instance, Hunt and Ross [13] identified a NORC with at least half of the residents aged 60 or older. Likewise, it is also defined as a housing community where at least 65% of residents are over 50 years old [14]. Moreover, the U.S. Congress Senate (2006) defined NORCs as communities in which at least 40% of the heads of households are older individuals.…”

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: Scoping Review

“…In 11% (7/64) of the articles, authors compared examples of NORCs or NORC programs to other aging-in-place concepts, including the village model [26][27][28][29], campus-affiliated retirement communities [29], or new urbanism [30], and in 3% (2/64) of the articles, authors compared the concepts of horizontal and vertical NORCs [31,32]. Authors conducted studies comparing two groups within NORCs in which one receives an intervention and the other does not in 5% (3/64) of the included articles [33][34][35]. Methods used to conduct research in NORCs typically included surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, and observational methods.…”

An Overview of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) for Ageing in Place

“…The consortium further determined that a census area with a higher proportion of people aged 75 and older living alone was a high-risk area. Lyons and Magai [30] defined a qualified NORC as having 65% or more residents aged 50 plus but did not explain their choice of housing community.…”