Enhancing Quality of Life of Elders in Private Domestic Housing in Hong Kong through a Facilities Management Model

Increasing life expectancy and reduced mortality is leading to a significant increase in the aging population in Hong Kong, with a total of 941,300 elders living there in 2011. The proportion of elderly residents is projected to rise still further from 13.3% in 2011 to 26.5% in 2031. To tackle this problem of rapid aging, the HK government’s main policy platform is ‘aging in place’ (HKSAR 2011, 2012). However, only half of all elders benefit from the governmental policy through public and subsidized housing, with 46% still living in private domestic (PD) housing with diversified environment and facilities (Census Statistics Department 2009). As developers normally concentrate on producing affordable housing for adults to maximize profit, at present no purpose-designed PD units have been developed for elders. Indeed, inappropriate facilities and living environment reduce elders’ Quality of Life (QoL), leading to health and safety problems.The physical living environment is a recognized dimension of QoL (World Health Organization QoL Assessment [WHOQOL] Group 1998a), and is likely to be particularly important for domestic elders. Because of a decline in their health and mobility, elders spend most of their time at home and rely on facilities and facilities management (FM) for support with physical and biological problems, and to maintain psychological wellbeing. Although there is a Universal Design Guidebook for general residential development in HK (HKHS 2010a), there are no specific guidelines for designing and managing PD housing for elders based on an integrated FM study covering the construction, physical, social and psychological disciplines.There is an extensive literature on FM, caring environmental design, post-occupancy evaluation, building maintenance, and QoL for adults in general and elders in particular, but little research integrates all these aspects in the context of PD housing for elders. The purpose of this study is to enhance the QoL of elders in PD housing through FM. Its objectives are: (1) to factorize the FM components in PD housing and QoL indicators for elders; (2) to establish FM-QoL relationships for elders in PD housing; (3) to develop an integrated FM-QoL model; (4) to verify the model using longitudinal data; and (5) to propose FM guidelines for enhancing QoL for elders in PD housing. The findings will promote the development of a proactive assessment of FM in PD housing, and enhance the QoL of elders across society through their application to urban planning to create a more elderly-friendly community.