BACKGROUND: Adaptations and assistive technology (AT) have an important role in enabling older people to remain in their own homes. OBJECTIVE: To measure the feasibility and cost of adaptations and AT, and the scope for these to substitute and supplement formal care. DESIGN: Detailed design studies to benchmark the adaptability of 82 properties against the needs of seven notional users. SETTING: Social rented housing sector. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures of the adaptability of properties, costs of care, adaptations and AT, and relationships between these costs. RESULTS: The adaptability of properties varies according to many design factors and the needs of occupiers. The most adaptable properties were ground floor flats and bungalows; the least were houses, maisonettes and flats in converted houses. Purpose-built sheltered properties were generally more adaptable than corresponding mainstream properties but the opposite was the case for bungalows. Adaptations and AT can substitute for and supplement formal care, and in most cases the initial investment in adaptations and AT is recouped through subsequently lower care costs within the average life expectancy of a user. CONCLUSION: Appropriately selected adaptations and AT can make a significant contribution to the provision of living environments which facilitate independence. They can both substitute for traditional formal care services and supplement these services in a cost-effective way.
BACKGROUND: Adaptations and assistive technology (AT) have an important role in enabling older people to remain in their own homes. OBJECTIVE: To measure the feasibility and cost of adaptations and AT, and the scope for these to substitute and supplement formal care. DESIGN: Detailed design studies to benchmark the adaptability of 82 properties against the needs of seven notional users. SETTING: Social rented housing sector. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures of the adaptability of properties, costs of care, adaptations and AT, and relationships between these costs. RESULTS: The adaptability of properties varies according to many design factors and the needs of occupiers. The most adaptable properties were ground floor flats and bungalows; the least were houses, maisonettes and flats in converted houses. Purpose-built sheltered properties were generally more adaptable than corresponding mainstream properties but the opposite was the case for bungalows. Adaptations and AT can substitute for and supplement formal care, and in most cases the initial investment in adaptations and AT is recouped through subsequently lower care costs within the average life expectancy of a user. CONCLUSION: Appropriately selected adaptations and AT can make a significant contribution to the provision of living environments which facilitate independence. They can both substitute for traditional formal care services and supplement these services in a cost-effective way.
Authors: Rebecca Gathercole; Rosie Bradley; Emma Harper; Lucy Davies; Lynn Pank; Natalie Lam; Anna Davies; Emma Talbot; Emma Hooper; Rachel Winson; Bethany Scutt; Victoria Ordonez Montano; Samantha Nunn; Grace Lavelle; Matthew Lariviere; Shashivadan Hirani; Stefano Brini; Andrew Bateman; Peter Bentham; Alistair Burns; Barbara Dunk; Kirsty Forsyth; Chris Fox; Catherine Henderson; Martin Knapp; Iracema Leroi; Stanton Newman; John O'Brien; Fiona Poland; John Woolham; Richard Gray; Robert Howard Journal: Health Technol Assess Date: 2021-03 Impact factor: 4.014
Authors: Oscar H Franco; Thomas B L Kirkwood; Jonathan R Powell; Michael Catt; James Goodwin; Jose M Ordovas; Frans van der Ouderaa Journal: BMC Geriatr Date: 2007-05-03 Impact factor: 3.921