Elderly mobility and mobility outcomes: households in the later stage of the life course

Characteristics of movers and predictors of residential mobility in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort

Current efforts to characterize movers and identify predictors of moving have been limited. We used the ARIC cohort to characterize non-movers, short-distance movers, and long-distance movers, and employed best subset algorithms to identify important predictors of moving, including interactions between characteristics. Short- and long-distance movers were notably different from non-movers, and important predictors of moving differed based on the distance of the residential move. Importantly, systematic inclusion of interaction terms enhanced model fit and was substantively meaningful. This work has important implications for epidemiologic studies of contextual exposures and those treating residential mobility as an exposure.

Housing Choices of Older People: Staying or Moving in the Case of High Care Needs

Despite the development of various housing options across Europe, older people often face the choice of staying at home with the support of family and/or formal services or moving to a care home, but how people vary regarding these preferences and how newer cohorts will be different is under-researched. This study explores the housing choices of older people under the condition of liminality, which is defined as the hypothetical condition of high care needs. The most common choices available are compared; that is, staying at home (with social home-care support or visits to a daycare centre) or moving to supported housing or a care home. Cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups of older people that were differentiated in their choices between various options of moving versus staying at home, either by using home care or daycare. Differences between the clusters along three dimensions that influence decisions to move or stay, namely levels of attachment, satisfaction with housing and availability of support, which often function as limits on the options that are preferred, were explored. The results present the complexity of the decision-making process under imagined conditions of liminality and show a great diversity among people’s preferences. They also indicate that a significant share of older people have a strong preference for only one option (two of the cluster groups).

Choosing between staying at home or moving: A systematic review of factors influencing housing decisions among frail older adults

Background

Most older adults wish to stay at home during their late life years, but physical disabilities and cognitive impairment may force them to face a housing decision. However, they lack relevant information to make informed value-based housing decisions. Consequently, we sought to identify the sets of factors influencing the housing decision-making of older adults.

Methods

We performed a systematic literature search for studies evaluating any factors influencing the housing decisions among older adults over 65 years old without cognitive disabilities. Primary research from any study design reported after 1990 in a peer-reviewed journal, a book chapter or an evaluated doctoral thesis and written in English, French or Spanish were eligible. We extracted the main study characteristics, the participant characteristics and any factors reported as associated with the housing decision. We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis from the perspective of the meaning and experience of home.

Results

The search resulted in 660 titles (after duplicate removal) from which 86 studies were kept for analysis. One study out of five reported exclusively on frail older adults (n = 17) and two on adults over 75 years old. Overall, a total of 88 factors were identified, of which 71 seem to have an influence on the housing decision-making of older adults, although the influence of 19 of them remains uncertain due to discrepancies between research methodologies. No conclusion was made regarding 12 additional factors due to lack of evidence.

Conclusion

A wealth of factors were found to influence housing decisions among older adults. However, very few of them have been studied extensively. Our results highlight the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork to study the influence of a broader range of factors as a whole. These results will help older adults make the best possible housing decision based on their unique situation and values.

Holding On and Letting Go

Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to study residential mobility before and after entry into widowhood. An event-history analysis is employed to test the Litwak and Longino proposal that entrance into widowhood stimulates residential mobility. Widowhood is a triggering mechanism, with the peak of moving occurring in the 1st year of widowhood, preceded by a gradual rise in the probability of a move and followed by a gradual decline in that probability. Eventually, the majority of widowed persons move, but after 20 years of widowhood 40%o are estimated to still be in the home they occupied when they were widowed. Age at widowhood, health, duration of residence, educational attainment, excess space, income, race, homeownership, and single family residence affect holding on and letting go. Moving during widowhood is made more complex by changes over time in the way age at widowhood, income, and tenure status influence moving.

A Life-Course Perspective on Housing Expectations and Shifts in Late Midlife

This study applies a life-course approach and retirement migration theory to develop a model of future housing expectations and actual moves for a random sample of men and women in late midlife. Results suggest that late-midlife workers and retirees expect to age in place; expectations to live in highly supportive environments are uniformly low. Older, nonmetropolitan respondents with less education and more years in their homes express the strongest expectations that they will age in place. Those people who rent their homes, have weaker ties to their communities, and have more symptoms of depression tend to foresee a move in the future. However, physical health of respondents and their spouses do not predict future housing expectations. Prior expectations about aging in place, residential history, and life-course changes in marriage and retirement predict actual moves within the next two years, with differing patterns for men and women.

Mobility Patterns of Older Homeowners

Using multiyear data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics geo-code match file, the authors confirm that older homeowners were substantially less likely to move during the 1970s than younger homeowners. But unlike younger homeowners, older homeowners were also less likely to move from a distressed neighborhood than from a secure one. Of the population of older homeowners alive in 1980 who had lived in a permanently distressed neighborhood in 1970, only about 1 in 10 had moved to a secure neighborhood in the intervening 10 years. Younger homeowners in similar neighborhoods were three times more likely to have done so.

Older Persons Who Move: Reasons and Health Consequences

On the basis of data from the Longitudinal Survey of Aging (LSOA), 1984-1990, this article analyzes reasons for, and determinants of, moving among subjects 70 years or older. More than 60% of the mover sample gave their own poor health, their spouse's poor health/death, and/or their desire for close kinship as reasons they moved, and more than 25% cited money problems as a reason. Blacks and women were more likely to cite desire for close kinship than were Whites and men. The comparison between 615 movers and 3,445 nonmovers also showed that moving late in life contributes to the deterioration of health to a small but significant degree. Social services and financial assistance for children and other relatives who take in ailing elderly relatives are recommended. Social services and programs to help alleviate the stress and ease the transition of moving for older persons are also discussed.

Aging in America: essential considerations in shaping senior care policy

A rapidly aging US population will transform our society. The economic system will be challenged by the growing number of retirees. It is unlikely that families will be able to maintain their role as the primary instrument of care for disabled older people. Formal long-term care for the disabled is more costly and the formal long-term care system will have increasing difficulty recruiting workers. For reasons of preference and cost–effectiveness, aging in place has merit, but several issues related to housing and transportation need to be addressed in order to encourage that trend. While technology is being developed to impact on most other aspects of modern life, its use to promote safe independent living for older people lags significantly behind. The healthcare system is not prepared for the nature and volume of care related to this demographic shift. Many of these issues could be ameliorated by delaying retirement and better accommodating older workers.

United States' international retirement migration: the reasons for retiring to the environs of Lake Chapala, Mexico

Most studies of retirement migration in the United States focus at the national level, and there is comparatively little information about the retirees who cross international borders in their search for new homes. Retirement migrants are unusual in that many select destinations in less-developed countries, contrary to the general pattern of migration from poor to rich countries in search of jobs, higher incomes and a better standard of life. This study has examined the reasons for retirement migration from the United States (US) to the Lake Chapala area of the Mexican state of Jalisco. A non-random sample of 211 US retirees was surveyed using a self-completion, semi-structured questionnaire that included items about the decision to move to Mexico, the quality of life at the destination, cultural adaptation, and aspects of personal identity, financial security and health-care. Four major reasons for migrating to Mexico were identified: financial circumstances, the natural environment, a sense of community and friendship, and a better quality of life. While the migrations contradict much taken-for-granted and popular knowledge about migration patterns around the world, they have important implications for the ways of life, social relationships and welfare of the most recent cohort of older people. More in-depth multidisciplinary studies are needed to increase understanding of this evolving phenomenon.