Requirements Analysis on the Physical Environment Factors of Senior Welfare Centers to Prepare for a Super Aged Society

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Background : To keep up with the serious issue of the aging population, the Korean government has announced a project in preparation for the era when people will live to be a hundred. It has planned to implement a variety of policies targeting active seniors who are healthy elders with financial power. The existing research on community senior welfare centers for active seniors focuses on the fundamental facility environment alone and there have been insufficient efforts to obtain a full understanding of their requirements, which have become more and more complex and diverse. This study aimed to confirm the importance of physical environment factors at community senior welfare centers, use correspondence analysis of requirements for the physical environment to carry out in-depth analysis, and present a future direction for the centers. Methods : The analysis obtained the following results: First, the need for welfare centers, general satisfaction with senior welfare centers, satisfaction with the physical environment, and the importance of the physical environment at the centers, as felt currently by elders, were all found to be concepts significantly correlated with one another. In other words, both the importance of and satisfaction with the physical environment at the senior welfare centers are now deeply correlated with general satisfaction with the use of the centers. Second, as for the general atmosphere of the senior welfare centers, 45.0% preferred a cozy homelike atmosphere; as for the interior color of the centers, 69.5% preferred bright and clear ivory; and as for the interior material of the centers, 89.5% preferred wood. Third, correspondence analysis of the preferred general indoor atmosphere, the preferred main interior color, and the preferred finishing material for the interior of the welfare centers obtained the following results: the cozy homelike atmosphere was strongly correlated with bright and clear ivory and fabric; the academic, school-like atmosphere with soft pastel and wood; and the luxurious, hotel-like atmosphere with bright and clear ivory and fabric; the natural and rural atmosphere was strongly correlated with soft pastel and wood; and the tidy, pleasant, and modern atmosphere was correlated with subdued and neat gray and primary colors and with wood, paints, and glass. Conclusion : This study confirmed the importance of the physical environment at community senior welfare centers and used correspondence analysis of requirements for the physical environment to determine the correspondence between the general indoor atmosphere and preferred colors and materials. A diversity of follow-up researches associated with this one will continuously be conducted for the active seniors who will live to be a hundred.