Are homes in your community aging-in-place ready?

As adults get older, they want to remain in their home and community for as long as possible. Advancing age increases our risk of developing a disability, particularly among adults age 85 and older. Existing homes are not suitable for adults with disabilities because they include steps to enter the building and narrow hallways/doors. They also lack features like lever style door handles and faucets, accessible electrical controls, an accessible bathroom, and a bedroom on the entry level. Even if a home has these features, it may not be suitable for successful aging-in-place. For example, laundry rooms are often located in the basement, making it difficult for adults with disabilities to perform routine tasks.

Universal design may be the solution because its goal is to design spaces and products to be used by all people, without the need for accessibility modifications. Implementation of universal design is sparse. Given the preferences for remaining the home and the lack of implementation of universal design, NDSU Extension and SDSU Extension conducted the Dakotas Housing Study. The purpose of this study was to explore consumer knowledge about aging in place and universal design. Nearly 700 people from North Dakota and South Dakota participated in the study. The median age of participants was forty-eight.

The results of this study indicate South Dakotans are aware that homes are not appropriate for aging in place and only one in four participants were familiar with universal design. Another interesting finding is that participants may not be aware of factors that contribute to affordable housing among older adults (e.g., owning a home without a mortgage). These results suggest a need to increase consumer knowledge about the role home design plays in quality of life in older age, as well as design solutions available to support successful aging in place, without the stigma of accessible design.

A report is available to learn more details about how the study was conduct and the results. In addition, the report includes five overarching recommendations, and a variety of strategies that communities might use to increase the availability of aging-in-place ready homes in their communities. For example, a community might incentivize builders that construct homes that include viability features (please see the report to learn the difference between visit-able and universal design). To access the report, please visit the SDSU Extension website: https://extension.sdstate.edu/housing-across-life-span-consumer-knowledge-preferences-and-barriers.