Roberts Amy Restorick, Adams Kathryn Betts
1 Department of Family Science and Social Work, Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
2 Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA.
Res Aging. 2018 Jul;40(6):511-534. doi: 10.1177/0164027517713313. Epub 2017 Jun 14.
Quality of life (QoL) in the face of declining health, mobility, and social losses is a central issue for older adults. Our study examined changes in QoL over time for older adults residing in independent senior housing within continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and estimated how residents' social engagement during their first year influenced QoL over the next 4 years. Data were drawn from a 5-year panel study of 267 older adults who moved into senior housing within four CCRCs. Although initial QoL varied between individuals, QoL declined for the group over time. One component of early social engagement-participating in a greater number of formal social activities organized by the CCRC-significantly slowed the rate of decline in QoL. Findings suggest that senior housing residents may benefit from early participation in organized social and leisure activities soon after move-in to forestall declines in QoL over the long term.
面对健康状况下降、行动不便和社交损失，生活质量（QoL）是老年人的核心问题。我们的研究调查了居住在持续照料退休社区（CCRC）中独立老年住房的老年人随时间推移的生活质量变化，并估计了居民第一年的社交参与度如何在接下来的4年中影响生活质量。数据来自对267名老年人的为期5年的面板研究，这些老年人搬进了四个CCRC中的老年住房。尽管个体之间的初始生活质量有所不同，但随着时间的推移，该群体的生活质量有所下降。早期社交参与的一个组成部分——参加CCRC组织的更多正式社交活动——显著减缓了生活质量下降的速度。研究结果表明，老年住房居民可能会从入住后尽早参与有组织的社交和休闲活动中受益，以长期防止生活质量下降。
