NEWS

National Poll on Healthy Aging Shows Preparedness of Older Adults to ‘Age in Place’

May 24, 2022

New findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging suggest many people in their 50s, 60s and 70s need to do more to modify their homes or plan for services they may need if they want to avoid or delay needing to move.

In all, 88% of people between the ages of 50 and 80 said it was very or somewhat important to them that they live in their homes as long as possible. But only 15% said they’ve given a lot of consideration to how their home may need to be modified as they age, while 47% have given it little or no thought.

The poll is based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s academic medical center.

The survey focused on a number of areas relative to “aging in place,” including physical accessibility features and smart home technology, but also social and service support.

For example, the survey revealed that half of older adults (49%) reported having at least one smart home device, i.e., technology that uses Wi-Fi and sensors to allow for communication between devices, remote monitoring, or voice control.

For more detail, view the full report here.