Facilities Management Guideline for Elderly in the Care and Attention Homes

To accommodate the huge amount of elderly in Hong Kong (HK), over 755 care and attention (C&A) homes have been constructed. However, there is still lack of a guideline governing the facilities management (FM) in the C&A homes to ensure the quality of life (QoL) of the elderly. Hence, a systematic research study with multiple research methods and high-tech were applied, including on-site measurement, FID system questionnaire survey, and focus groups. As a result, a FM guideline, concerning three main components (i.e., space management, building services and support facilities) was established for C&A homes. Some recommendations of the FM guideline include: 1) the administrative area of C&A homes should be located next to the main entrance and have a good view of the entrance; b) common rooms, such as physical therapy and living room, should be located at the centre of the C&A home; 3) color contrast should be widely used to help elderly identify orientation; 4) text, graphic and animated signage should be clearly placed at both high and low levels; etc.. The established FM guideline can be used to govern the efficient and effective design and FM of C&A homes for the real needs and QOL of elderly in future. The outcomes of this study should also provide a platform for comprehensive studies of the elderly living environment in C&A homes throughout Hong Kong and the world.