| Description |
Aging in place allows older adults to live in one's own home and community safely, independently and comfortably. The majority of older adults hope to age in place for as long as possible, and a number of supportive factors are necessary to make aging in place successful. Literature suggests these factors include social support, one's home environment and neighborhood, and community-based services. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has limited older adults' access to each of these essential support systems. This honors thesis examines older adults' firsthand experiences during the pandemic and factors they identified as being supportive to aging in place under pandemic conditions. Five categories of factors were the most supportive to aging experiences during the pandemic: environmental, physical, functional, social, and psychological factors. These supportive elements were not equally available to all older adults during the pandemic, creating significant disparities between demographic groups. As such, this thesis additionally considers aging service providers' perceptions of supportive factors to aging in place during the pandemic through a series of three Knowledge Cafe focus groups. Comparison of the key factors identified by older adults and service providers reveals moderate inconsistencies in identifying supportive factors to aging in place. Reconciling these discrepancies and focusing on specific needs identified by a variety of older adults will likely improve aging service provision. Policymakers and service providers should focus on extending supportive factors to all older adults. |
