Specialized Housing/Housing With Supportive Services/Elder Cohousing

Abstract

Within long‐term care it is recognized that specialized housing and housing with services that support elderly people are an important contribution to quality of life. Older people are at risk for developing disabilities and diseases, such as a poor physical and/or mental health, chronic sensory impairment, and social isolation. Specialized housing models provide care services for older people and are instrumental to support their health and social care needs. Increasing residents' autonomy, supporting their independence, and trying to enable their own lifestyle for as long as possible are key goals of housing models. There are many specialized housing models across the world and their characteristics vary widely, which will be discussed in this entry. Innovative models of care focus on small‐scale and homelike initiatives as an alternative to 24‐hour care in traditional nursing homes, especially for people with dementia.

Social health and dementia: a European consensus on the operationalization of the concept and directions for research and practice

“…Effective interventions for the person with dementia are, for example, those supporting the person to adapt to, and cope with, their changing abilities and limitations, including cognitive rehabilitation therapies, such as goal-oriented tailored cognitive rehabilitation therapy, cognitive stimulation group therapy, cognitive training, and exercise and psychomotor therapy (Bahar-Fuchs et al, 2013; Dr€ oes et al, 2011); case management based on the model of empowerment (MacNeil Vroomen et al, 2015), and other interventions aimed to enhance a person's strengths and capabilities (from care for basic needs, to support to participate in a community, taking stock of one's life through reminiscence, and providing opportunities to gain new skills); staff awareness training, which aims to enable professional caregivers to better identify signs of awareness in people with dementia to improve their quality of life and that of their caregivers (Clare et al, 2013); and support groups (Toms, Clare, Nixon, & Quinn, 2015). Other beneficial interventions are those aimed at recognizing care needs (Miranda-Castillo, et al, 2013) and at providing meaningful activities creating stimulating, positive experiences, like green care farms (de Boer et al, 2015;Verbeek, 2015) and horticultural activities (Gonzalez & Kirkevold, 2015), and when dementia is more advanced, non-verbal communication methods, like doll therapy, snoezelen and Namaste (Shin, 2015;Stacpoole, Hockley, Thompsell, Simard, & Volicer, 2015;van Weert, van Dulmen, Spreeuwenberg, Ribbe, & Bensing, 2005).…”