College of Architecture and Planning, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Healthy Aging and Resilient Places Lab, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Gerontologist. 2024 Feb 1;64(2). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnad087.
Response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic required rapid changes to physical, social, and technological environments. There is a need to understand how independent-living older adults are adapting to pandemic-borne transformations of place and how environmental factors may shape experiences of aging well in the context of a public health emergency response.
We conducted a photovoice study to examine the characteristics associated with aging in place. Our study investigated how independent-living older adults characterized aging in a "right" place approximately 1 year after the onset of the pandemic.
Six themes categorized into 2 groups capture how older adults describe a "right" place to age. The first category, "places as enactors of identity and belonging," describes the significance of places contributing to intimate relationships, social connections, and a sense of personal continuity. The second category, "places as facilitators of activities and values," recognizes environments that promote health, hobbies, goals, and belief systems. Participants reported modifying their daily living environments with increased use of technology and more time outdoors.
Our findings emphasize older adults' active engagement with place and strategies used to maintain healthy aging despite public health restrictions. The results also identify place-based characteristics that may help overcome stressful circumstances from older adults' perspectives. These findings inform pathways to pursue to facilitate resiliency for aging in place.
应对 2019 年冠状病毒病大流行需要对物理、社会和技术环境进行快速改变。有必要了解独立生活的老年人如何适应大流行带来的场所转变，以及在公共卫生应急响应的背景下，环境因素如何影响良好的老龄化体验。
我们进行了一项摄影访谈研究，以研究与就地老龄化相关的特征。我们的研究调查了独立生活的老年人在大流行开始约 1 年后如何描述一个“合适”的地方进行老龄化。
六个主题分为两组，描述了老年人如何描述一个“合适”的地方进行老龄化。第一组主题为“场所作为身份和归属感的执行者”，描述了场所对亲密关系、社会联系和个人连续性的重要性。第二组主题为“场所作为活动和价值观的促进者”，认识到促进健康、爱好、目标和信仰体系的环境。参与者报告说，他们通过更多地使用技术和更多地在户外来改变他们的日常生活环境。
我们的研究结果强调了老年人积极参与场所，并采取了策略来保持健康的老龄化，尽管存在公共卫生限制。研究结果还从老年人的角度确定了可能有助于克服压力情况的场所特征。这些发现为促进就地老龄化的适应能力提供了途径。
