주택사용성이 고령자의 에이징인플레이스 요구와 주택개조 의사에 미치는 영향

Abstract

Although most Korean housing lacks age-friendly design features, many older adults want to remain in their home as long as possible. A safe and accessible housing design features contributes to the fall prevention of senior residents and their aging in place. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of housing usability on the desire to aging in place and intention to home modification of older adults. It also analyzed the differences between socio-demographic and housing characteristics, and the three constructs (i.e., housing usability, desire to aging in place, and intention to home modification). A survey questionnaire was developed for a quantitative study. The target population was seniors aged 65 or older living in Busan. A total of 400 data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and path analysis. The results of this study are as below. First, home usability significantly positively impacts the desire to aging in place, and the desire to aging in place significantly positively influences on intention to home modification. Second, seniors with poor housing usability and low desire to aging in place were more likely to be vulnerable people in terms of socio-demographic and housing characteristics. Third, intention to home modification was low regardless of socio-demographic and housing characteristics. To encourage older adults to modify their homes for fall prevention and better accessibility, it will need to improve awareness of the significance of home modification and provide appropriate services and financial support from the Korean government according to each senior resident’s situation.