Research Institute on Aging of Charles E. Smith Life Communities, Rockville, MD 20852, USA.
Health Promot Int. 2010 Jun;25(2):210-20. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daq006. Epub 2010 Mar 2.
Most older adults prefer to age in place and it is therefore vital to support them in maintaining a high quality of life in their place of residence. Many Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) have implemented services to fulfill a range of needs of their residents. Community Partners (CP) provided 58 NORC residents in six apartment buildings within two suburban neighborhoods in Maryland with health and social work services, activities and transportation services. Participants were compared with 70 residents who did not receive these services. Residents were assessed prior to initiation of services (e.g. transportation, social work and recreation) and after service usage through a membership program. Members had significantly increased satisfaction with recreational activities and social life in the community as well as significant decreases in depressed affect. Members' self-reports showed that they were more likely to get out of the house, felt less isolated, and were happier since joining CP activities. This study is unique in examining the impact of utilization of a variety of services for older persons, while comparing these individuals to a local group of community-dwelling older persons who are without NORC services.
大多数老年人更喜欢就地养老，因此支持他们在居住的地方维持高质量的生活至关重要。许多自然形成的退休社区 (NORC) 已经实施了服务，以满足居民的各种需求。社区合作伙伴 (CP) 为马里兰州两个郊区社区的六栋公寓楼中的 58 名 NORC 居民提供了健康和社会工作服务、活动和交通服务。参与者与未接受这些服务的 70 名居民进行了比较。居民在开始服务（例如交通、社会工作和娱乐）之前以及通过会员计划使用服务后进行了评估。会员对社区的娱乐活动和社交生活的满意度显著提高，抑郁情绪显著降低。会员的自我报告显示，自参加 CP 活动以来，他们更有可能走出家门，感到不那么孤立，并且更快乐。这项研究的独特之处在于，它考察了为老年人提供各种服务的利用情况对老年人的影响，同时将这些人与没有 NORC 服务的当地社区居住的老年人进行了比较。
