The quality of the housing stock is a key issue for older people living at home and the need for accessible housing is growing. At present, only 20 % of the housing stock in our country is accessible, i.e. around 650 000.
Assessing housing conditions and making the necessary changes will support independent living at home. Individual needs and life circumstances influence the housing solution that is right for each person as they age. In particular, the greatest need is to improve housing conditions for older people, that is to make the existing housing stock more accessible, safe and functional.
The Act on Supporting the Functional Capacity of the Older Population and on Social and Health Services for Older Persons obliges municipalities to assess the needs of older people for comprehensive services to support their independence. The elderly person's functioning and factors relating to accessibility, safety of living and access to local services must be taken into account.
Human functioning refers to a person's physical, mental and social ability to cope with the activities of daily living that are relevant and necessary for them - work, study, leisure and recreation, caring for themselves and others - in the environment in which they live.
According to the Healthy Finland survey (2023), difficulties in carrying out basic daily activities at home increased markedly for people aged 85 and over as they aged. When there are challenges in functioning, there are also challenges in terms of the functionality and safety of the environment. With an accessible environment, we can improve the way many older people manage at home.
Help for assessing accessibility
The 'Accessible and Safe Housing - Towards a Digital Assessment Platform' project developed and piloted a home accessibility assessment form, which can be used, for example, during a home visit to assess the living conditions of a client in terms of independent functioning and safe housing. The form guides the user through the most relevant spaces of the home, room by room.
By February 2024, almost 130 social and healthcare professionals from the Satakunta wellbeing services county have been trained to use the tool. The training covered the use of the tool as well as basic information on assessing accessibility, functioning and safety in the home environment. In addition, short training material will be compiled on the website of the Research Center for Human Functioning during the spring of 2024.
The Home Accessibility Assessment Tool is freely available to different sectors of the social and health care sector. You can download the form to fill in from the Research Center's project page. The project will also build a service path for the smooth use of the tool in the Satakunta wellbeing service county together with professionals.
Did you know?
- The target is one million accessible homes in Finland in 2030, currently only 20 % of homes are accessible.
- Wellbeing service counties can, at their discretion, support people to live in their own homes by providing financial support to equip their homes. Compensation is available for elderly and disabled people for whom the modifications enable them to continue living at home.
- 89 % of accidents occur at home and during leisure time. The risk of accidents requiring hospitalisation increases most after the age of 75-80.
- The total annual cost of accidents at home and during leisure time is estimated at between € 780 million and € 1 157 million nationwide.