[Where shall we live if we lose our independence?].
A survey of housing conditions of 730 elderly people has revealed the progressive, though not yet complete, disappearance of apartments without hot water, inside toilets or bathrooms. In any event, the poorest people remain at a disadvantage in this respect, and a relatively large number of the elderly live in old buildings without elevators or laundry equipment. In the event of their independence becoming limited (i. e. if they were unable to assume their own housekeeping), 66% of the surveyed would wish to stay in their own homes, if adequate help were available. In the case of a more severe handicap, 41% would prefer to live in a pension for old people, 30% in a type of housing providing special care for old people, and 12% in a flat specially designed for old people in a building open to all age groups. These last two choices, which are incompatible with conditions governing admission to the institutions in the survey area, reveal a lack of information but also show a desire for the development of institutions where elderly people can feel really at home. Only an extremely small minority considered the possibility of living with their children. According to the survey, the general wish is that institutions for old people should be situated in the section of town where the people concerned have lived, and not isolated in the countryside.
de Roulet
R
R
Hirsch-Durrett
E
E
Fabre
J
J
Rageth
J P
JP
Martin-du-Pan
R
R
Posternak
J
J
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D014505:Urban Population
Où logerons-nous si nous perdons notre indépendance?