%0 Journal Article
%T Housing and Health: Very Old People with Self-Reported Parkinson¡¯s Disease versus Controls
%A Maria H. Nilsson
%A Maria Haak
%A Susanne Iwarsson
%J Parkinson's Disease
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/710839
%X Objectives. To explore whether aspects of housing and health among very old people with self-reported Parkinson¡¯s disease (PD) differ from matched controls. Methods. Data from the ENABLE-AGE Survey Study were used to identify people with self-reported PD ( ) and three matched controls/individual ( ). The matching criteria were age (mean£¿=£¿82 years), sex, country, and type of housing. The analyses targeted problems in activities of daily living, objective and perceived aspects of housing, for example, number of environmental barriers, accessibility (i.e., person-environment fit), and usability. Results. The number of physical environmental barriers did not differ ( ) between the samples. The PD sample had more ( ) accessibility problems than controls and perceived their homes as less ( ) usable in relation to activities. They were less independent and had more functional limitations (median 5 versus 2; ), and 70% experienced loss of stamina or poor balance. Conclusions. Due to the fact that they have more functional limitations than very old people in general, those with self-reported PD live in housing with more accessibility problems. This explorative study has implications for rehabilitation as well as societal planning, but larger studies including people with a confirmed PD diagnosis are needed. 1. Introduction An increasing proportion of very old people remain living in their ordinary homes despite declines in health. With an increased life expectancy for the general population and for those living with chronic diseases, this poses major challenges to rehabilitation as well as societal planning and housing development [1, 2]. Although Parkinson¡¯s disease (PD) is typical for old age, older people with PD are often excluded in research [3]. The knowledge on the life situation of those ageing with PD is therefore insufficient, and little is known about their housing and health situation. In order to develop more efficient rehabilitation strategies for those living with a chronic disease during many years, such knowledge is needed. In PD research, most studies are based on hospital-based samples excluding old and very old people [3], with attention mainly to disease-specific outcomes. Using such selected samples with no consideration to contextual factors is quite insufficient. According to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) [4], environmental factors influence activity and participation. Examples of physical environmental barriers in the housing environment and in its close exterior surroundings are high
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/pd/2013/710839/