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Housing
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Increase
the percentage of older adults that have access to safe, decent, affordable,
and accessible assisted living facilities.
Developmental
Objective, baseline data to be collected and analyzed in
2001.
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Older
Adult Health - Housing
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With the dramatic growth of North Carolinians
over age 65 comes the need to provide continuing-care retirement communities,
assisted living facilities, and homes where older adults with limited
mobility can live comfortably. Most of the continuing-care retirement
communities are too expensive for many lower to middle income older
adults. Also, these facilities tend to be found largely in urban locations.
As the population over age 65 continues to grow, there will be an
increasing need for assisted-living facilities that people with limited
income living in rural areas can afford. The Division of Aging, North
Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, reports that based
on the 1990 US Census report, about 28 percent of people age 65 and
older live at or near the poverty level. Almost 30 percent of persons
age 65 and older lived in non-family households compared with only
18 percent of persons ages 18 to 64. According to the 1990 Census
data, over 25 percent of older adults pay more than 30 percent of
their total income for housing costs.
Research has found that when older adults
are forced to move to unfamiliar surroundings, many become much
less active, and less social. Therefore significantly affecting
their overall physical and mental well being is significantly affected.
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Disparities
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In contrast to the overall strong economy,
the minority population including African American/Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos,
and American Indians are disproportionately affected regarding access
to affordable housing, including rental housing. As older adults face
health issues that decrease their ability to adequately care for themselves,
they are much more likely to be uprooted from their familiar home
surroundings, and placed in institutionalized settings. |
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Determinants/Risk
Factors
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| Older adults with
fixed incomes, frail or disabled people (unable to care for themselves),
poverty, and lack of family or social support |
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Older
Adult Health - Housing |
