Older adults’ experiences of home maintenance issues and opportunities to maintain ageing in place

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of how older adults’ experiences of home maintenance issues shape their opportunities to maintain ageing in place. We explore this question through a case study of ageing in place on Waiheke Island, near Auckland, New Zealand. We draw on in-depth interviews with 28 older adults aged 65 to 94, as well as participatory photo elicitation interviews and research journals conducted with 11 of these participants. We argue that older adults’ diverse personal circumstances and wider social contexts influence how home maintenance concerns are understood and addressed. We find that maintenance issues may cause stress and anxiety, thereby rupturing affective ties to place, limiting access to preferred identities and reducing well-being. Yet many feel connected to social networks and gain a positive sense of self and autonomy through participation in home maintenance tasks. Ultimately, how older adults experience their home maintenance issues influences their opportunities to maintain ageing in place.

Keywords:

• Ageing in place
• home maintenance
• housing in later life
• older adults
• New Zealand

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by, and affiliated with, a larger project entitled Ageing in place: empowering older people to repair and maintain safe and comfortable houses in their communities (2007–2012).

Funding

This work was supported by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology (FRST).