Assessing the health impact of age-specific housing

It has been claimed that 'retirement communities', defined in this instance as voluntary communities of older people living in shared, purpose-built h ousing, combine the best attributes of residential and community living. Su bjective health status may thereby be improved through a culture in which i ndependence and autonomy are actively promoted. Concern has also been raise d that age-segregated communities of this sort might produce 'ghettos' of i ncreasing dependency and service demand. This study, conducted over a 12-mo nth time period, found that when compared to older people living in the loc al neighbourhood, the retirement community population maintained their phys ical and mental health (utilising measures including the SF36, Life Satisfa ction Index, and 18 semantic differentials). Investigation of these finding s indicated that peer support and safety/security, and 'autonomy with inclu sion' were key factors in maintaining health status.