Neighborhood Support and Aging-in-Place Preference Among Low-Income Elderly Chinese City-Dwellers.

OBJECTIVES: Preferences for aging-in-place are unclear among low-income elderly Chinese city-dwellers, who are more likely to be geographically bound, to have little care support, but possess strong filial values and family cohesiveness. This study investigated the preferences for aging-in-place and its contributing neighborhood factors among low-income Chinese elderly in a metropolitan city.

METHOD: We conducted interviews with 400 older people residing in public housing estates in Hong Kong.

RESULTS: The majority of low-income elderly persons (80.4%) prefer to age in place even if their health and functioning has deteriorated beyond independent living. Logistic regression showed that (a) having very low income (

DISCUSSION: Low-income elderly Chinese city-dwellers prefer to age in place, given appropriate neighborhood support. These findings can be interpreted in light of Lawton's ecological theory of aging and suggest a service model similar to the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community with Supportive Service Programs.