Aging in place is not ‘equally accessible’ to all, study finds

Despite the overwhelming preferences of older people to age in place in their own homes — a trend that holds true across North America — there remain inequities that limit the access and ability for some older people to fulfill this desire, according to the findings of a recent study.

Researchers at McGill University in Canada found that the social factors influencing aging in place can illuminate equity barriers for some older people seeking to remain in their homes as they grow older.

“The main takeaway from our research is that aging in place is not equally accessible to everyone,” said Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, the project’s senior author and the first chair in the institution’s Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy in a post by the university. “What we wanted to do was highlight the fact that there’s an enormous potential for inequity even here in Canada, despite the existence of universal health care.”

The study had a global focus, analyzing data from 55 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and across Europe.

Interestingly, the study found that more highly educated individuals were less likely to age in place than their less-educated counterparts.

“This is surprising because higher education is usually linked with having more resources, which could support aging in place,” said Clara Bolster-Foucault, a PhD candidate at McGill University listed as the first author of the study as published in the journal “Age and Ageing.”

There could be a number of reasons for this including the ways in which education “influences family structure,” Bolster-Foucalt said. “[P]eople with more education tend to have children later in life and have fewer children as a result,” which makes it “less likely for people with more education to receive care if they need support to age in place. People with more education also tend to live longer and may need more care in later life.”

Those with more resources, including “greater socio-economic resources and/or stronger social connections,” were more likely to age in place, the study found. Conversely, those residing in rural areas or “members of racial or ethnic minorities or who were immigrants were also more likely than urbanites, non-minorities and non-immigrants to age in the community.”

Researchers said this could be “due to lack of access to long-term care, stronger community ties and/or cultural values that prioritize family caregiving.”