Health and well-being comparison between residents of serviced housing for older people and community-dwelling older adults in japan: a propensity score matching analysis.

PURPOSE: Serviced Housing for Older People (SHOP) in Japan offers barrier-free living environments and supportive services to enhance the health and well-being of older adults. This study aimed to compare the health and well-being of SHOP residents with community-dwelling older adults and to compare factors that may influence them.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study utilized propensity score matching to compare the health and well-being of 1,080 SHOP residents (69.4% female; mean age: 83.9 years) with 7,560 community-dwelling older adults (67.8% female; mean age: 84.1 years) from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Health and well-being were assessed using nine items. Additionally, social behaviours and social factors such as laughing frequency, regular outings, hobbies, depression, participation in preventive care activities, meeting friends frequently, emotional support, and eating with others, were compared.

RESULTS

SHOP residents exhibited significantly higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and physical health compared to community-dwelling older adults. They were more engaged in activities like regular outings, attending preventive care activities, meeting friends, and eating with others. They also reported higher frequencies of laughter and received emotional support.

CONCLUSION

SHOP may improve the health and well-being of older adults. These findings can help in developing age-friendly housing initiatives to address the challenges of an aging society.