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Understanding Everyday Challenges of Aging With Disability Through Lived Experiences
Lyndsie M Koon1, Elena T Remillard2, Wendy A Rogers3
1Life Span Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
The Gerontologist
|May 6, 2025
Summary
Adults aging with disabilities face unique daily challenges. Understanding these experiences can inform new technologies and interventions to improve their well-being and community engagement.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Disability Studies
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- 43% of adults over 65 have a disability, including those aging with pre-existing conditions.
- Aging with disability involves managing long-term conditions alongside age-related changes.
- Limited understanding exists regarding the daily lives, challenges, and needs of this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and compare everyday activity challenges faced by individuals aging with long-term mobility and sensory disabilities.
- To identify commonalities and distinctions in challenges across different disability groups.
- To uncover unmet needs and opportunities for support.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of in-depth interview data from the Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Solution Strategies (ACCESS) study.
- Inclusion of 180 participants aged 60-79 from vision, mobility, and hearing disability groups.
- Exploration of lived experiences across six categories of daily activities in home and community settings.
Main Results:
- Identification of the most difficult activities and frequently cited challenge themes for each disability group.
- Detailed comparison of challenges across vision, mobility, and hearing impairments.
- Contextual understanding of shared and distinct challenges through participant narratives.
Conclusions:
- Rich insights into the specific challenges encountered by adults aging with disabilities.
- Comparisons highlight unique and overlapping difficulties for sensory versus mobility disabilities.
- Opportunities identified for technological innovations and interventions to enhance well-being, participation, and daily activity engagement.
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