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Summary

According to the baseline assessment conducted by Tsuen Wan District in 2016 with reference to the eight Age-friendly City (AFC) domains recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), “Housing” was identified as the second most important area for support by district residents. Most respondents indicated that they wanted access to home modification options to improve the age-friendliness of their housing. What particularly worried them was the cost of improvement works that they could not afford. The lack of access to relevant information regarding housing improvement also added to their concerns.

To address these findings, a district-based program entitled “Jockey Club Age-Friendly City Project – Housing Improvement and Care Scheme for the Elderly in Tsuen Wan” was implemented to improve the living environment of older district residents through minor renovations or installation of home features that improved their accessibility. Funded with a subsidy of HKD359,700 provided by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the program was a joint effort of the Working Group on Age-friendly Community and Rehabilitation under the Social Services and Community Information Committee of Tsuen Wan District Council, Tsuen Wan Kwai Ching District Women’s Association, and Longevity Design House, a social enterprise focused on age-friendly housing design.

Three hundred households joined the scheme, and participants could choose one of six home modification options. Younger and older volunteers conducted home visits and provided follow-up assistance in monitoring the impact of home modifications. The breakdown of chosen home modifications is:

Installation of a grab bar: 113
Replacement of 4 compact fluorescent light-bulbs/ fluorescent tubes : 111
Installation of a raised toilet seat: 49
Lighting installation (surface-mounted): 18
Adjustment of television antenna and signals tuning: 0
Wall re-painting: 9
Total: 300

Website: http://www.jcafc.hk/en/events/223-tw-prog13

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Sector(s): Housing

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageing in place
  • Intergenerational activities
  • Inclusion
  • Participation

Contact details

Name: Marclus Wong

Email address: twdcadm@twdc.had.gov.hk

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:
  • Civil Society Organisation
  • Volunteers
  • Private sector
  • Research institution

How collaboration worked: In this home improvement scheme, government departments worked hand-in-hand with Tsuen Wan District Council to organize extensive programs through its well-established network, while NGOs mobilized neighborhood support and care for the older adults, and social enterprises conducted the home modification works in a practical and cost-effective way. This cross-sectoral collaboration across government, charities, social service agencies and social enterprises to launch an age-friendly program in the Tsuen Wan District was an advantage: this diversity in expertise led to positive changes that focused on older people’s needs.

Older people’s involvement: Older people helped to implement the age-friendly practice

Details on older people’s involvement: Both younger and older volunteers from the local community visited older adults and people living with disabilities to talk to them and listen to their perspectives. This allowed the social service agency to identify the older adults’ specific needs and to plan follow-up action.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
The home renovations, installation of equipment and home visits received positive comments and appreciation. However, it was concluded that in the long-term, a thorough and comprehensive assessment scheme by professional occupational therapists should be established to enable older people to age in place. In addition, social service agencies and social enterprises should continue to be engaged in order to provide the most cost-effective home modifications for older adults, while government departments should take a proactive approach in offering financial assistance and support services.

Feedback:
The older adults who received home improvement works expressed appreciation of the project, and some of them even asked for further, self-financed improvement works to enhance their home’s safety.

Expansion plans:
Yes, if the funding is available. This practice will expand as long as the funding is available, in order to support as many adults as possible.

Looking back

Reflections:
If we could plan and implement this age-friendly practice again, we would engage occupational therapists who are more familiar with home modification works and home safety measures. Some special cases may require a professional assessment of home improvement needs, and a larger-scale tailor-made modification may be necessary to address these special needs. Further, the project lasted for four months and only a limited number of older adults could be included in this intervention due to the time constraints. We believe that the project would have had a larger impact if the project was extended for 12 months.

Challenges:
One challenge was that older adults were reluctant to put their trust in this home improvement scheme even though they had expressed a need for home modification. Volunteers and neighbours played a major role to build rapport and establish a more personal relationship with these older adults through home visits. Through these visits, the volunteers were able to explain the aims of the project and the details of the home modification works to address concerns that potential participants may have had. This led to a greater feeling of security amongst older adults about the proposed improvement works.