On the edge: Balancing health, participation, and autonomy to maintain active independent living in two retirement facilities

Abstract

This study examines how independent living residents in Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) work to maintain a healthy, active community. Specifically, this paper elucidates how independent living residents, who have high status in CCRCs but also face transitions to more advanced care, manage their daily lives to build a positive sense of community against the backdrop of potential health and social declines. The researcher supplemented four years of observation in one CCRC and two years of observation in another with qualitative interviews with thirty residents from both facilities. Results indicated that shared sentiments contrasting the active social world in independent living with other living units, norms of mutual support balanced with autonomy, social participation as a source of belonging (or isolation), and definitions of deviance surrounding functional health and manners framed residents' understandings of daily life by reaffirming independent living residents' privileged status in each facility.