Bedbugs devour hope for ageing in place in Canada
A recent study by Toronto Community Housing (TCH) concluded that challenges to ageing-at-home can not be superficially ranked in order of importance.
“We learned that what may have been initially viewed as minor irritants – bedbugs for example – can create a cascade of interrelated outcomes that collectively diminish the quality of life and the opportunity to age-at-home successfully,” the report said.
The study concluded that many factors affecting quality of life were not, and might never be, within the TCH’s capacity to respond directly. The authors proposed that “a realistic response must be strategic as well as persuasive. It will require both direct action and careful partnerships.”
The study, Ageing-At-Home: A Study of Ageing-at-Home in a Toronto Comminity Housing Seniors-designated Building identified a need for:
- Care managers
- Access to homemaking services
- Access to information
- Bedbug control
- Social connectedness and reduced isolation
- Regular security checks
- Social life in the building
- Minimizing isolation for non-English speaking tenants
