The Relationship of the Older Person with His Home in Developing Countries

Sandra Perito, Instituto Brasil Acessivel / FAUUSP, PhD student, architect, Instituto Brasil Acessivel / Marcondes Perito Engenharia e Arquitetura, Brazil

Introduction

The perception of barriers in the use of the environment suffers great influence of psychological factors. Older people perceive the limitations of use and the difficulties of access and ambulation as a natural consequence of advanced age, and this hinders the acceptance of corrective interventions. It is true that all technological and medical advancements will not prevent or eliminate the morbidity due to age; changes will always happen and will negatively affect functional abilities. Hence the need to create multidisciplinary systems, involving all society sectors, to accommodate such changes, once the perception and acceptance of intervention imply changes in beliefs and values: health and construction professionals, social assistants and all population need to act in order to change attitudes involving senior's culture. To preserve the quality of the domestic environment, as difficulties begin, it is necessary to carry out adaptations, but physical interventions always cost money and efforts to be implemented. In order to avoid incurring expenses, usually older people adapt themselves to the barriers in their houses, changing their behavior; they minimize the difficulties reducing their activities, but compromising their autonomy.

Objective

Discuss and promote proposals of multidisciplinary actions, public and private, that may help increase the awareness of the older users to the need of making adaptations in their residences, to ensure their complete and safe use. To call the attention of building agents: government, property developers, builders and architects, to the importance and need, within the social and economic context of the developing countries, to build adaptable homes, which can be accommodated to users in all stages of their lives. But this is a long term solution and it is also necessary to find solutions to the present situation once there is a huge number of existing houses that need interventions to permit older people continuing living in their own homes with wellbeing, mobility and independence. For that, it is necessary to stimulate public and private actions in order to create polices and services that eliminate social and economic barriers, and encourage interventions execution.

Material and Method

Presentation by the author of research conducted with 257 Brazilian older persons, to show data on user satisfaction related to their homes, and the degree of barrier perception in the use of the domestic environment. Findings on the difficulties that Brazilian older persons feel in the use of their houses and the level of acceptance of implementation of corrective interventions will be presented to form the discussion agenda. Besides the research results, case studies, also conducted by the author, will be shown to illustrate some design application that have helped seniors to change their beliefs and accept interventions that resulted in better, safe and independent use of domestic environment, to stimulate other actions in the same way.

Research Results

Data from the research show that the degree of satisfaction with housing is high; however the satisfaction level of people living in rented houses is lower than of those living in their own home, indicating that the smaller the sentimental link with their house the higher the perception of the barriers and discomfort. Although 53% of the interviewed declared having physical problems, 95% consider their houses appropriate for present use, and 82% consider it appropriate for the remaining of their lives, yet 51% would not change anything in their present house. The residential mobility of the Brazilian older person is low: 50% are living in the same house for more than 20 years, and 72% would not like to move. How could the same house, under the same conditions, be adjusted for living "forever"? "Excessive satisfaction" of the interviewed related to their dwellings, with assessment distortions and lack of barrier perception were evidenced.

Conclusions

The risk associated with any barrier can be undervalued and it should be expected that aging and the decrease of abilities will mean changes on the risk suffered by people. But, from a psychological perspective, many of these changes are not perceived as a serious risk. Also, low income brings low expectation of solving use problems. How is it possible to assist those 72% of Brazilian older persons who want to stay in the house they have been living in for the rest of their lives?

Discussion

As the relationship of older people with their homes is rather complex and of difficult solution by the users themselves, architects, psychologists and health professionals should collaborate in order that the living space be adapted to the physical and psychological needs of the older user. As this context involves social, economic and psychological aspects, the presentation of the research results intends to instigate the discussion in order to establish a line of multidisciplinary actions, involving all society sectors, which contribute to improve the domestic environment of older people, easing the perception of barriers and acceptance of interventions to improve their well-being and life quality. In this way, the research results, which show the Brazilian situation and well-established case studies, can lead the discussion to format an approach methodology that conducts to a new vision of ageing issues and contribute to find solutions in long and short terms.

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