Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance

Increasing numbers of older people relocate into senior housing when their physical performance declines. The change in social environment is known to affect their wellbeing, providing both challenges and opportunities, but more information on the relations between social and physical parameters is...

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Published in:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Main Authors: Sinikka Lotvonen, Helvi Kyngäs, Pentti Koistinen, Risto Bloigu, Satu Elo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017
Subjects:
R
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14090960
https://doaj.org/article/2da47722fb414b85997db38d1dcd43a5
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2da47722fb414b85997db38d1dcd43a5 2023-05-15T17:42:38+02:00 Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance Sinikka Lotvonen Helvi Kyngäs Pentti Koistinen Risto Bloigu Satu Elo 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14090960 https://doaj.org/article/2da47722fb414b85997db38d1dcd43a5 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/9/960 https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601 1660-4601 doi:10.3390/ijerph14090960 https://doaj.org/article/2da47722fb414b85997db38d1dcd43a5 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 14, Iss 9, p 960 (2017) social environment older people senior housing relocation physical performance physical activity walking speed grip strength chair stands Medicine R article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14090960 2022-12-31T03:05:42Z Increasing numbers of older people relocate into senior housing when their physical performance declines. The change in social environment is known to affect their wellbeing, providing both challenges and opportunities, but more information on the relations between social and physical parameters is required. Thus, we elicited perceptions of the social environment of 81 older people (aged 59–93 years, living in northern Finland) and changes in it 3 and 12 months after relocation to senior housing. We also measured their physical performance, then analysed associations between the social and physical variables. Participants reported that they had freedom to do whatever they liked and generally had enough contact with close people (which have recognized importance for older people’s wellbeing), but changes in their physical condition limited their social activity. Moreover, their usual walking speed, dominant hand’s grip strength and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) significantly decreased. The pleasantness of the residential community, peer support, constraints on social activity imposed by changes in physical condition, meaningful activity at home and meeting close people all affected these physical performance parameters. Clearly, in addition to assessing physical performance and encouraging regular exercise, the complex interactions among social factors, physical performance and wellbeing should be considered when addressing individuals’ needs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Finland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14 9 960
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic social environment
older people
senior housing
relocation
physical performance
physical activity
walking speed
grip strength
chair stands
Medicine
R
spellingShingle social environment
older people
senior housing
relocation
physical performance
physical activity
walking speed
grip strength
chair stands
Medicine
R
Sinikka Lotvonen
Helvi Kyngäs
Pentti Koistinen
Risto Bloigu
Satu Elo
Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance
topic_facet social environment
older people
senior housing
relocation
physical performance
physical activity
walking speed
grip strength
chair stands
Medicine
R
description Increasing numbers of older people relocate into senior housing when their physical performance declines. The change in social environment is known to affect their wellbeing, providing both challenges and opportunities, but more information on the relations between social and physical parameters is required. Thus, we elicited perceptions of the social environment of 81 older people (aged 59–93 years, living in northern Finland) and changes in it 3 and 12 months after relocation to senior housing. We also measured their physical performance, then analysed associations between the social and physical variables. Participants reported that they had freedom to do whatever they liked and generally had enough contact with close people (which have recognized importance for older people’s wellbeing), but changes in their physical condition limited their social activity. Moreover, their usual walking speed, dominant hand’s grip strength and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) significantly decreased. The pleasantness of the residential community, peer support, constraints on social activity imposed by changes in physical condition, meaningful activity at home and meeting close people all affected these physical performance parameters. Clearly, in addition to assessing physical performance and encouraging regular exercise, the complex interactions among social factors, physical performance and wellbeing should be considered when addressing individuals’ needs.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Sinikka Lotvonen
Helvi Kyngäs
Pentti Koistinen
Risto Bloigu
Satu Elo
author_facet Sinikka Lotvonen
Helvi Kyngäs
Pentti Koistinen
Risto Bloigu
Satu Elo
author_sort Sinikka Lotvonen
title Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance
title_short Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance
title_full Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance
title_fullStr Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance
title_full_unstemmed Social Environment of Older People during the First Year in Senior Housing and Its Association with Physical Performance
title_sort social environment of older people during the first year in senior housing and its association with physical performance
publisher MDPI AG
publishDate 2017
url https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14090960
https://doaj.org/article/2da47722fb414b85997db38d1dcd43a5
genre Northern Finland
genre_facet Northern Finland
op_source International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 14, Iss 9, p 960 (2017)
op_relation https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/9/960
https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601
1660-4601
doi:10.3390/ijerph14090960
https://doaj.org/article/2da47722fb414b85997db38d1dcd43a5
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14090960
container_title International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
container_volume 14
container_issue 9
container_start_page 960
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