Enhancing functional independence: Strategies shared by seniors aging in place

Functional ability is the capacity to carry out basic physical and mental tasks. For seniors, adults 55 years of age and older, functional ability is essential to continue to live at home safely, independently, and comfortably as they age. This is known as aging in place. Although there is a significant amount of published literature written by experts relating to home modifications for the aging population, there are no published studies which have asked seniors directly what they need to accomplish this goal. Less than five studies published address low level home modifications. Seniors are no less capable of being creative and inventive than other individuals and the aging individual has much to offer on this subject from their personal insights and experiences. This exploratory descriptive study sought to explore what unique self-discovered household and personal "helpful hints" could be elicited from seniors relating to maintaining functional independence. Analyses of the pooled data resulted in 76 multiple low cost ideas and home environment modifications which would enable the older adult to enjoy independent living while positively aging in place. Future research on this topic needs to be conducted to illicit what issues are related to the well being of this important population.