Environments for Aging - Spring 2019 - 12

BULLETIN
Edited by Anne DiNardo

Community checkup

Research on the impact CCRCs have on resident wellness shows promising findings

H

ow does the type of senior living community chosen by seniors influence
their overall health and wellness? The Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging
and Northwestern University are one year into a five-year study to answer
that question, specifically quantifying the benefits of continuing care retirement
communities (CCRCs). The main goal of The Age Well Study is to assess the
impact of CCRC living on residents' health and wellness over time and to provide
data that can support and inform senior living design for years to come by identifying which organizational factors, such as size or amenities, are associated with
more positive outcomes for residents.
Eighty CCRCs and more than 5,000 residents are participating in the study,
with data being collected annually to look at changes in residents' wellness over
time. Results from the first year of the study, conducted from January to May
2018, were recently released. Participants completed surveys to assess their
health and wellness in areas relating to emotional, social, physical, spiritual,
intellectual, and vocational wellness, while staff were surveyed on organizational
characteristics. Residents' input was then compared with responses from 1,000
older adults in the community at large who were comparable in terms of age,

Emotional

6%

Social

6%

Physical

45%

Spiritual

4%

Intellectual

3%

Vocational

6%

49%

25%

12%

69%

34%

54%

63%

33%

39%

57%

53%

41%

0%

100%
Somewhat or greatly reduced

No change

Source: Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging, The Age Well Study

12

100

80

60

40

20

0

Perceived impact of moving to a CCRC on types of wellness

EFAmagazine.com * Spring 2019

Somewhat or greatly improved

income, and race/ethnicity. A subsequent
report will examine interview data, which
captures residents' perspectives on health and
wellness within a CCRC.
Findings from the first year suggest that
CCRC residents are aging well, with more
favorable scores on most measures of physical, social, and intellectual wellness compared
to older adults living in the general population.
For example, measuring satisfaction with life
on a scale of 1-7, CCRC residents report high
levels of satisfaction with life on average (5.84)
compared to other seniors in the community
at large (5.34). Looking at perception of aging,
on a scale of 1-6, seniors' outlook was also
more positive at CCRCs (4.01) compared to
community-at-large older adults (3.64).
In four out of five facets of physical wellness,
residents of CCRCs outscored their counterparts in the community at large. While the
study is not intended to reveal explanations
for why certain patterns exist, the researchers
did offer some theories, including noting that
the presence of fitness centers and wellness
services at CCRCs likely contributes to the
difference. Of the CCRCs participating in
the study, 98 percent have a fitness center,
85 percent house a swimming pool, and
100 percent commonly offer group exercise,
which makes wellness resources more convenient to residents than those in the community
who may have greater barriers to participation
when seeking similar resources.
The study also found some associations related to organizational characteristics and resident emotional wellness. Specifically, residents
from larger communities of 300-plus residents
reported greater life satisfaction, more positive
moods and perceptions of aging, less stress,
and greater perceived control than those
living in communities of 1-300 residents. The
authors noted that this may be associated with
the fact that larger communities generally have
more resources that have a positive impact
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Environments for Aging - Spring 2019

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