| dc.description.abstract | China's senior population is equivalent to over 14% of its total population, so it can be easily concluded that China is an aging society (RenMin RiBao, 2014). In the next 20 years, China's population will begin to increase at the rate of 10 million each year (Hua Er Jie Jian Wen, 2014). Another relevant fact is that more than 260 million peasant workers are currently working in urban metropolitan cities (China's Employment, 2013). Therefore, the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) is essential to provide well-being and care to senior citizens in China. However, the development of CCRC in China is not keeping up with the annual increase in population. The codes and standards for senior housing design are also inadequate and inconsistent. The majority of CCRCs in China continue to focus only on physical facilities, not quality of life of seniors (Tao, Wang, & Ma, 2008). However, the resident's quality of life (QOL) has been considered as a very important factor when designing senior living facilities in other countries. Therefore, this study hypothesized that physical environments and quality of life both play significant roles in seniors' life and more attention should be paid when designing the senior housing in China. Under these backgrounds, this research reviewed a range of available literature on senior living design including two main categories, which are physical environment and quality of life. The Physical environment part described information about housing and living environment for older people including the continuing care retirement community, senior living communities and building types in China, standards of the residential building design for the aged in China, wayfinding, and universal design. The second part includes information about quality of life domains, such as safety, enjoyment, relationship, autonomy and choice. This study focused on the common areas of the CCRC in Beijing, China. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used to collect and analyze the data. The researcher visited the CCRC, observe and measure physical environments of common areas (i.e. space planning, finish materials, furniture, lighting, universal design features) utilizing physical environment checklists. Data was also collected by conducting in-person surveys with residents and their families and friends, and semi-structured interviews with staff and a manager. The collected data were analyzed to investigate the relationship between CCRC common areas and residents' quality of life...This research will contribute to the Chinese senior housing industry by incorporating the quality of life domains that emphasize human relationship, choice, and enjoyment along with safety in the physical environment. For future research, the researcher will develop a more comprehensive observation checklist and survey and interview questionnaires that can be applied to different types of senior housing in China to examine seniors' needs and expectations. | |
