Research project The home is an important starting point for activities during aging and is thus important for our health and well-being. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how housing and relocation affect active and healthy ageing over time. På Rätt Plats (Ageing in the Right Place) is a web-based housing counselling service that aims to support older people to make well-informed decisions about their future housing.
The overall aim is to 1) explore the introduction of the web-based housing counselling service På Rätt Plats (PRP), and 2) investigate and evaluate how housing and relocation affect active ageing over time. The project contributes knowledge about how housing and relocation promote active and healthy ageing and how such knowledge can be utilised through a web-based housing counselling service.
As a starting point for activities during aging, the home is important for our health and well-being. There is a lack of knowledge about how housing and relocation affect active and healthy ageing. The process of planning the future housing has been described as complex and there has been a lack of support from the community. På Rätt Plats is a web-based housing counselling service that aims to support older people to make well-informed decisions about their future housing.
The aim is twofold to: 1) explore the implementation of the web-based housing counselling service På Rätt Plats (PRP), and 2) investigate and evaluate how housing and relocation affect active ageing over time. The research questions are:
1. How do older people experience their housing reasoning after using PRP?
2. What are the preliminary effects of PRP on outcomes: active ageing, health-related quality of life, intentions to move, and mobility in living space?
3. How do older people experience the opportunities to live an active life in the previous home and the new home after relocation?
4. How do housing and relocation explain changes in active ageing over a five-year period and how are these changes influenced by sociodemographic factors, self-rated health, mobility and geographical characteristics?
The project is based on two sub-projects: Intervention RELOC-AGE and Prospective RELOC-AGE. In studies 1 and 2, the participants are users of På Rätt Plats in the municipalities of Östersund and Härnösand. Study 2 also includes professionals that have provided support in the use of PRP. In studies 3 and 4, the participants are people who were 55+ and had expressed interest in moving with three housing companies when the Prospective RELOC-AGE was initiated in 2021.
Proactive ways of working linked to housing can be seen as a strategy for creating age-friendly communities. Housing counselling can help promote the health, well-being and independence of older people. The project contributes new knowledge about how housing and relocation can promote active and healthy ageing.
The project is a collaboration between Umeå University and Lund University. The project is linked to the research programme RELOC-AGE: How do housing choices and relocation matter for active and healthy ageing? led by Professor Susanne Iwarsson at the Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments (CASE) at Lund University.
RELOC-AGE: How do housing choices and relocation matter for active and healthy ageing?
