title: Do Villages Promote Aging in Place? Results of a Longitudinal Study.
abstract: Villages are a new, grassroots, consumer-directed model that aims to promote aging in place and prevent unwanted relocations for older adults. In exchange for a yearly membership fee, Villages provide seniors with opportunities for social engagement (social events and classes), civic engagement (member-to-member volunteer opportunities), and an array of support services. In total, 222 Village members were surveyed at intake and 12-month follow-up to examine changes in their confidence aging in place, social connectedness, and health. The strongest positive results were in the domain of confidence, including significantly greater confidence aging in place, perceived social support, and less intention to relocate after 1 year in the Village. As most seniors were in good health and well connected at the time they joined the Village, there were not improvements in health or social connectedness. Authors discuss the importance of longer term, longitudinal studies to examine the effectiveness of Villages in preventing institutionalization over time.
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, USA.|2 Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Scharlach
authors.affiliation: 1 Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, USA.|2 Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kurtovich
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017146:Models, Organizational; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D058992:Social Participation; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Village model; aging in place; social engagment