Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Home Environment and Disability-Related Outcomes in Aging Individuals: What Is the Empirical Evidence?

Wahl, Hans-Werner ; Malmgren Fänge, Agneta LU orcid ; Oswald, Frank ; Gitlin, Laura N. and Iwarsson, Susanne LU (2009) In The Gerontologist 49(3). p.355-367
Abstract
Purpose: Building on the disablement process model and the concept of person-environment fit (p-e fit), this review article examines 2 critical questions concerning the role of home environments: (a) What is the recent evidence supporting a relationship between home environments and disability-related outcomes? and (b) What is the recent evidence regarding the effects of home modifications on disability-related outcomes? Design and Methods: Using computerized and manual search, we identified relevant peer-reviewed original publications and review articles published between January 1, 1997, and August 31, 2006. For Research Question 1, 25 original investigations and for Research Question 2, 29 original investigations and 10 review articles... (More)
Purpose: Building on the disablement process model and the concept of person-environment fit (p-e fit), this review article examines 2 critical questions concerning the role of home environments: (a) What is the recent evidence supporting a relationship between home environments and disability-related outcomes? and (b) What is the recent evidence regarding the effects of home modifications on disability-related outcomes? Design and Methods: Using computerized and manual search, we identified relevant peer-reviewed original publications and review articles published between January 1, 1997, and August 31, 2006. For Research Question 1, 25 original investigations and for Research Question 2, 29 original investigations and 10 review articles were identified. Results: For Research Question 1, evidence for a relationship between home environments and disability-related outcomes for older adults exists but is limited by cross-sectional designs and poor research quality. For Research Question 2, evidence based on randomized controlled trials shows that improving home environments enhances functional ability outcomes but not so much falls-related outcomes. Some evidence also exists that studies using a p-e fit perspective result in more supportive findings than studies that do not use this framework. Implications: Considerable evidence exists that supports the role of home environments in the disablement process, but there are also inconsistencies in findings across studies. Future research should optimize psychometric properties of home environment assessment tools and explore the role of both objective characteristics and perceived attributions of home environments to understand person-environment dynamics and their impact on disability-related outcomes in old age. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Literature review, Old age, Falls, Activities of daily living, Home modification, Disablement process, Person-environment fit
in
The Gerontologist
volume
49
issue
3
pages
355 - 367
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • wos:000266320500006
  • scopus:67249139361
ISSN
1758-5341
DOI
10.1093/geront/gnp056
project
Home, Health and Disability along the Process of Ageing
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Division of Occupational Therapy (Closed 2012) (013025000)
id
ddbe725b-2ca4-44f1-919f-e8708c2a570a (old id 1425210)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:46:56
date last changed
2022-04-20 21:36:10
@article{ddbe725b-2ca4-44f1-919f-e8708c2a570a,
  abstract     = {{Purpose: Building on the disablement process model and the concept of person-environment fit (p-e fit), this review article examines 2 critical questions concerning the role of home environments: (a) What is the recent evidence supporting a relationship between home environments and disability-related outcomes? and (b) What is the recent evidence regarding the effects of home modifications on disability-related outcomes? Design and Methods: Using computerized and manual search, we identified relevant peer-reviewed original publications and review articles published between January 1, 1997, and August 31, 2006. For Research Question 1, 25 original investigations and for Research Question 2, 29 original investigations and 10 review articles were identified. Results: For Research Question 1, evidence for a relationship between home environments and disability-related outcomes for older adults exists but is limited by cross-sectional designs and poor research quality. For Research Question 2, evidence based on randomized controlled trials shows that improving home environments enhances functional ability outcomes but not so much falls-related outcomes. Some evidence also exists that studies using a p-e fit perspective result in more supportive findings than studies that do not use this framework. Implications: Considerable evidence exists that supports the role of home environments in the disablement process, but there are also inconsistencies in findings across studies. Future research should optimize psychometric properties of home environment assessment tools and explore the role of both objective characteristics and perceived attributions of home environments to understand person-environment dynamics and their impact on disability-related outcomes in old age.}},
  author       = {{Wahl, Hans-Werner and Malmgren Fänge, Agneta and Oswald, Frank and Gitlin, Laura N. and Iwarsson, Susanne}},
  issn         = {{1758-5341}},
  keywords     = {{Literature review; Old age; Falls; Activities of daily living; Home modification; Disablement process; Person-environment fit}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{355--367}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{The Gerontologist}},
  title        = {{The Home Environment and Disability-Related Outcomes in Aging Individuals: What Is the Empirical Evidence?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp056}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/geront/gnp056}},
  volume       = {{49}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}