Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The present study explores the place-based knowledge on "aging in place" of community nurses (CNs) in Austria to gain insights in the suitability of urban and rural municipalities as places for residence at old age. An online survey was conducted at the end of 2024. Records of 23 CNs out of 273 registered CNs were included. The information was coded using the health determinants model by Dahlgren & Whitehead and statistically analyzed using Fisher's exact test and Cohen's Kappa for assessing information consistency. Due to the small sample size and the number of missing values the results are presented in a descriptive manner. It was found that 1. CNs working in rural municipalities tendentially identify older adults as a particularly vulnerable population group and 2. CNs working 20+ hours a week claim a lack of caring and caregiving relatives. Moreover, on the one hand CNs consider unsuitable living (housing) conditions and (risk of) poverty in old age as major challenges hampering a decent aging in place, on the other hand above all demographic change having considerable impact on day-to-day work of CNs in the future. Although the empirical findings are neither representative for Austria nor for different spatial types of municipalities the responses are in line with international literature and thus may serve as a starting point for an interdisciplinary debate between spatial planners and public health experts on metrics for assessing the age-friendliness of municipalities.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
Authors: Tatjana Fischer, Anita Sackl, Karl Moder
Institution: BOKU University
Language: English
Subfield: Life-span and Life-course Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7223175449