People are living longer than ever before, prompting society to explore resilient housing solutions. Ageing at home is a favored option, yet the stimulation provided by the living environment (including both home and proximal environment) should be adequate to the health of older people. The HABITAGE project seeks to study the association between the stimulating nature of the living environment of older and two components of their health: physical activity and sleep. To do so, we are conducting a study including the design of a specific questionnaire that classifies habitats on a stimulation scale. The items of our tool were selected thanks to a review of the scientific literature. To define the most relevant questionnaire items for the stimulation scale, we are gathering the opinions of several stakeholders including older people but also experts in ageing and/or housing from five disciplines: housing, medical, psycho-social, home care, and territory planning. In a first phase, we are conducting semi-structured interviews with a restricted sample of these participants to evaluate the relevance of the items and to weight each section of the tool. In a second phase, a larger sample will be consulted through a survey, to mainly weight each element of the questionnaire. Weighting is essential to classify habitats according to their stimulating nature. The classification, linked to the state of health of an older inhabitant, will enable to determine whether the habitat is adequate, or if it needs to be adapted. The last tool version will be presented during the conference.

Authors:
Maëlle Scouvemont, University of Liège, Belgium
Valériane Tannoia, University of Liège, Belgium
Gwendoline Schaff, University of Liège, Belgium
Olivier Bruyère, University of Liège, Belgium
Christina Schmidt, University of Liège, Belgium
Catherine Elsen, University of Liège, Belgium

About the Presenter(s)
Maëlle Scouvemont is currently a PhD student of the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Liège, Belgium.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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