Use and Usability of Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly: An Observation Study in Gothenburg Sweden |
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Authors: | Morgan Andersson Göran Lindahl Inga Malmqvist |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Architecture , Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg , Sweden;2. Department of Construction Management , Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg , Sweden |
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Abstract: | To meet the demographic development, measures were initiated by the Swedish government entailing changed conditions for municipal eldercare, such as assisted living. Participant observation is used to study the daily use of common spaces in 14 assisted living units in Gothenburg. The results show examples where the current use diverges from the intended use and suggest diverging objectives and conflicts of use. The observations indicate that the degree of usability is determined by the physical environment itself in some cases, by the users and by changes in use in other cases, and by a combination of both in some cases. |
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Keywords: | assisted living participant observation usability effectiveness efficiency satisfaction functionality accessibility flexibility aging population |
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