Older people are just as strategic and inventive as younger people when it comes to recognising their options for how and where to live, according to new research funded by the ESRC.

Forum Response: Economic and Social Research Council

Dr Sheila Peace, spokeswoman for the ESRC, said: "Our work shows how people often put off the most radical decisions about changing where they live until faced with a crisis.

"For instance, we spoke to a man who had been mugged and treated in hospital. He was then faced with a period of rehabilitation at a residential care home. This experience showed him that he definitely did not want to live in a care home, but he could see the difficulties he would face in his own home. He really needed to know what his housing options were.

"Another man, whose wife found it very difficult to live in their home after a stroke, used his skills as an architect to think through how things could be adapted and tailored to make the place suitable for her to stay in.

"We have called these concerns 'option recognition' and they have led us to understand how older people are just as adept at recognising their environmental options as younger men and women."

"The crucial question is 'How does environment contribute to a life of quality as you age?' To answer this we have to define environment, and the research shows us how complex this is.

"Environment in its widest sense includes the street, the home, the neighbourhood, as well as the nation and other countries. It has its social aspects, as well as psychological factors ranging from places in our memories and fantasies to issues of attachment, continuity and change, and older people engage with all of these aspects. Our study has shown how these various factors can differ because older people vary so much in terms of age itself, gender and culture. It was important that the research was carried out in different types of location and in varying types of accommodation."

Forum Response: Help the Aged

A spokesman for Help the Aged told ePolitix.com: "Help the Aged welcomes the ESRC research conducted by Dr Sheila Peace and colleagues.

"Its findings confirm that the charity is building its campaigning and services on hard evidence in three main ways.

"That home and local environment are inextricably linked and issues such as crime, clean and safe pavements, and access to local facilities are vital to the quality of life of older people

"That sound advice about housing options are needed both post retirement and when it is becoming a struggle to stay independently at home

"That older people should be asked directly about their needs and views and not be taken for granted. For example the need for a spare room in sheltered housing."