Resumen de Análisis de la implantación de un modelo de vivienda integrado para el adulto mayor en Puerto Rico: posibilidades y potencial impacto social
Evaristo Andrés Román Martínez
Objectives. Our main objective was to analyze the social impact generated by the implementation of an integrated house model for middle class¿ older adults in Puerto Rico. The specific objectives were: to analyze the functional and structural possibilities and requirements for the implementation of the model, and to analyze at which point this implementation could improve the quality of life of this social group. Design and methodology. It is a transversal, retrospective, descriptive and non experimental case study along the 2007-2008 periods, framed as a quail-quantitative investigation. From a simple probabilistic sample of hazardous kind composed by 386 older adults of 65 years old or more, from middle class extraction, personal data (sex, age, civil state, number of sons, laboral and home situation) was collected, and their perceptions about the quality of life related to their house. A survey with 83 closed items was applied in order to know the social attitudes of the older adults towards the model; the level of satisfaction with the quality of life perceived. All the absolute frequencies of the options of reply were analyzed along the sample, inferring its favorites grade respecting the social attitude, by qualitative parameters by dimension of auto perceived quality of life and frequencies of positive replies > 50%. Result. All the items of the survey show favorable towards the quantified social attitude. No significative correlations were founded regarding personal characteristics. Conclusions. The proposed integrated house model is adequate to the demands, requirements and abilities of the Puerto Rican older adults of 65 years old and more, especially those related to the auto perceived quality of life, for the model has great possibilities to be implemented in a specific context, and will probably improve the older adult¿s quality of life. Nevertheless, the following main recommendations must be considered: a continuous analysis of the socioeconomic and demographic evolution of older adults; development of integration programs for older adults orientated to all the population as a whole; legal adjustments and normative to stimulate the offer of services and plans to facilitate the project.
