The Needs of Older People in Sheltered Housing: A Comparison of Inner City and New Town Areas

Purpose. Sheltered accommodation in the UK is commonly seen as a half-way house between independent community living and long-term care but little is known about the health and needs of its residents. The purpose of this study was to compare the needs of older people living in sheltered housing in two contrasting areas. Design and Methods. Residents from three inner city sheltered housing schemes (N = 51) and three new town schemes (N = 87) were interviewed using the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly CANE). They were also asked about their social networks, health, service use, and reasons for moving into sheltered housing. Each unit's facilities, policies, and physical layout were evaluated using the Multiphasic Environmental Assessment Procedure (MEAP) and warden interview. Results. Seventy-five out of 138 (54%) residents had one or more unmet needs, but number of unmet needs did not differ between the two areas. Unmet needs were more common in people with activity limitation, mental health problems, or limited social networks. Inner-city residents had poorer mental and physical health but used local resources more and viewed their placement as more successful than those in the new town. Implications. Sheltered housing units should be flexible to meet the variety of needs, and also utilise the strengths and resources of residents. In the new town area those with restricted social networks may have had higher unmet needs because of poorer access to community resources such as public transport. Those in the inner city area had less unmet needs because they had better access to community resources, such as transport. Sheltered accommodation needs to have better access to local community resources to help prevent residents feeling isolated. (C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]