RETIREMENT VILLAGES AND RELATED CARE SERVICES: PERCEPTIONS, PREFERENCES AND NEEDS OF ELDERLY CONSUMERS AND PROVIDERS IN CAPE TOWN

Authors

  • CA Froneman Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
  • MKR van Huyssteen Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
  • IJ van der Merwe Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15270/40-4-325

Abstract

This article describes the findings of a study in the Cape Metropolitan Area and its fringe districts of the perceptions, preferences and needs of elderly persons and the views of housing providers for the elderly regarding retirement housing and related care services. Interviews were conducted with 228 sampled elderly persons in neighbourhoods with a high concentration of the elderly and in selected retirement villages in the study area. The views of experts on retirement housing and role players in the field of elderly care were elicited separately. The basic preferences of the elderly can be summarized as: renting residential units instead of buying them; no luxuries such as therapy services; safety considerations incorporated in the design of the interior of the units; being able to use their own furniture in the units; primary health care offered; availability of recreational facilities; good corporate management; and accessibility to essential general services (in terms of the location of the village). These findings are considered for consumers in different cultural and socio-economic groups and are also compared with the views of developers, housing providers and other role players. It is contended that - given the Government’s new policy on housing and care for the elderly - the findings may assist the providers of retirement housing and related care services to understand the diversity of needs of the South African mature retirement market and to provide facilities and services accordingly.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

The first author would like to thank the Centre for Science Development and the University of Stellenbosch for financial support to conduct the research. Thanks also go to Prof. Monica Ferreira at the HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology for comments on earlier drafts of this article.

REFERENCES

ASSA2000 2003. AIDS and demographic model of the Actuarial Society of South Africa. 2000. Hyperlink [http://www.assa.org.za/downloads/aids/assa2000.asp]. 20 June 2003.

CLUFF, P. 1993. Designing and marketing retirement schemes to meet the expectations of senior consumers. Paper: AIC Conference, Johannesburg, 27 October 1993.

FERREIRA, M. 1996. Personal communication. Cape Town.

FERREIRA, M. 1998. Personal communication. Cape Town.

FRONEMAN, C.A. 2004. Die rol van aftree-oorde in die behuisingsvoorsiening van bejaardes in Groter Kaapstad: ‘n Stedelike Geografiese Perspektief. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis)

HOFMEYR, B.E.; MOSTERT, W.P. & OOSTHUIZEN, J.S. 1997. Unpublished data. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council. With permission of the HSRC.

LOUBSER, H. 1993. The importance of developing the right facilities for the successful management of a retirement village. Proceedings of the AIC Conference, Johannesburg.

LUMPKIN, R., GIBLER, K.M. & MOSCHIS, G.P. 1992. Retirement housing and long-term health care: attitudes and perceptions of the mature consumer. Lafayette, USA: AARP Andrus Foundation, University of Southwestern Louisiana.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1997. Department of Welfare and Population Development. White Paper on Social Welfare. Pretoria: Government Printer.

STATISTICS SOUTH AFRICA, 1996. Population Census. South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printers

STRYDOM, H. & RIP, S. 1988. Die bejaarde in aftree-oorde in Pretoria: hul lewenstyl en persepsies. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council, Co-operative Research Programme on Ageing.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION (SAPOA). 1993. A Guide to Retirement Centre Development. Johannesburg. VEESA.

VAN DEN BERG, S. 1996. The means test for social assistance grants: Its application, fiscal risks and some recommendations. Paper prepared for the Department of Welfare and Population Development. Department of Economics: University of Stellenbosch.

VAN DEN BERG, S. 1998. Ageing, public finance and social security in South Africa. Southern African Journal of Gerontology, 7(1):3-9.

Downloads

Published

2014-07-11

How to Cite

Froneman, C., van Huyssteen, M., & van der Merwe, I. (2014). RETIREMENT VILLAGES AND RELATED CARE SERVICES: PERCEPTIONS, PREFERENCES AND NEEDS OF ELDERLY CONSUMERS AND PROVIDERS IN CAPE TOWN. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 40(4). https://doi.org/10.15270/40-4-325

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 4 (2004)

Section

Articles

License

This journal is an open access journal, and the authors  and journal should be properly acknowledged when works are cited.

Authors may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, and with conferences.

The following license applies:

Attribution CC BY-4.0

This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.

Articles as a whole may not be re-published with another journal.