A Case Study on Relationship between Environmental Affordance and Holistic Health of the Active Elderly

Korean population is now aging at an unprecedented rate. Fertility decline together with rapid improvements in life expectancy is the dominant demographic trend. As human life and housing environment are inseparably related to each other, the importance of conditions of housing environment for active aging among seniors has been received considerable attention as vital ones to expand the independency period of seniors. The purpose of this case study is to identify relationships between environmental affordance and perceived holistic health of the active elderly living in a retirement community located in Seoul. With spending time personally in the community to observe their lives, the researcher could be in close rapport with the residents. After the period of getting familiar with each other, in-depth individual interview and focus group interview were conducted and then, qualitative analysis was completed. As a result, general evidences showed that perceived seniors' health on the whole was improved physically, socially, and mentally by moving into the community providing appropriate environment affordance with the older adults. The study presents that retirement relocation into an improper environment may be a negative challenge, however, it may positively influence on the health and well-being of those who live there if the environment properly supports seniors‘ needs physically and socially

환경적 지원성과 활동적 노인의 총체적 건강 간의 관계에 대한 질적사례 연구