Housing quality perceptions in Finland: the elderly population

Housing and health issues can vary over time and between populations. The elderly population is increasing worldwide. Yet only limited information exists about housing conditions: changes over time, and the relationships between health and safety among the elderly. Based on repeated surveys (2007 and 2011), housing and health issues in Finland were assessed, especially among the elderly (more than 65 years old). From various housing factors studied, the largest differences between surveys were in thermal comfort. From the six outcomes studied – satisfaction with the dwelling, maintenance, indoor air quality (IAQ), perceived safety, general health, and sleeping difficulties – only satisfaction with the dwelling had significant temporal variation. Modelling the outcomes led to a selection of variables that were significantly associated with the outcomes. The models’ sensitivity was 65–81% for perceived safety and satisfaction with the dwelling, maintenance, and IAQ, whereas it was only 5% for sleeping difficulties and 32% for general health status. Among the elderly, higher odds ratios (ORs) were found for the associations between housing satisfaction and non-elevated radon concentrations, accessibility, dwelling size, and stuffy odour, as compared with the total population sample. The results are useful for developing policies that increase wellbeing, and for building owners wishing to increase housing satisfaction among occupants.