The Meaning of a “Sense of Community” in a Finnish Senior Co-Housing Community

Abstract

In the foreseeable future, alternative housing options will be needed to meet the needs of and answer to the wishes of older people. Cohousing schemes are developed to fulfill the need for a housing type that provides mutual support and social contacts while alleviating the isolation and loneliness often experienced in ordinary neighborhoods. This study on a senior co-housing community in Finland asked what a "sense of community" meant to the residents and how a sense of community becomes visible in daily life. For these residents, a sense of community meant not only living with like-minded people but also communal activities, doing things together, learning from each other, and having reciprocal support, all of which created a sense of togetherness, belonging, and trust. The findings of this study showed that moving in later life can offer a viable option of having a living environment that one likes, which calls for a broader interpretation of housing policy guided by "aging in place" thinking.

Folkhälsans seniorboende och aktivt åldrande – BoAktiv-studien

“…I en studie av Jolanki och Vilkko (2015) framkom att invånarna i seniorboenden upplevde att den ömsesidiga hjälpen och stödet var en viktig del av samhörighetskänslan i och med att man kände sig behövd. Känsla av samhörighet har även samband med känsla av likvärdighet, med möjlighet att lära sig av varandra och ett stärkt socialt kapital ( Jolanki & Vilkko 2015). Det har visat sig att social gemenskap stärker både det fysiska och det psykiska välbefinnandet ( Jolanki m.fl.…”

“…Att samhörighet och socialt deltagande, eller till exempel gemensam sysselsättning, har ett samband med varandra, har konstaterats även i andra studier (Levasseur m.fl. 2017;Jolanki & Vilkko 2015). Liksom i föreliggande studie har man i tidigare forsk-ning funnit samband mellan social gemenskap och depressionssymptom.…”

A Preliminary Model for Conceptualizing the Contemporary Living Arrangements of Older Adults

“…The (see Glass, 2012;Jolanki & Vilkko, 2015;Pedersen, 2015). Other examples of group living settings include assisted living facilities (see Jonsdottir, Jonsson, Sigurdard, & Ottir, 2015;Taylor & Neill, 2009), prisons (Wangmo et al, 2017), extended stay hotels (see Lewinson & Morgan, 2014), and…”

The meaning of growing old: A lifeworld hermeneutic study on existential matters during the third age of life

“…Research on conditions for older adults' well-being are not that common, but it has been suggested that older adults often estimate their health as relatively good, in spite of ill health. For example, Jolanki and Vilkko [23] believe this means that people over 90 change their health perspective. Health problems are perceived as normal, and medical problems are accepted and tolerated without complete loss of the sense of well-being.…”