Sustainability perceptions of home modification service providers for older Australians

Abstract

Purpose

The majority of older Australians prefer living in their own home. Home modifications support older adults' ageing-in-place through mitigating environmental hazards of their home, and there is an increased interest in modifying older adults' residential environment in sustainable ways. However, an in-depth understanding of sustainability perceptions of home modification service providers (HMSPs) is lacking in Australia. Thus, the study aims to address this research gap.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative content analysis was adopted to identify sustainability perceptions through analyzing the retrieved home modification business information from the selected HMSPs' official websites. The results of qualitative content analysis were further analyzed by using independent-samples t-test and chi-square contingency table analysis to investigate the relationships between HMSP type and sustainability.

Findings

In total, 54 sustainability perceptions were identified, with the crucial ones being safe living environment, independent living and service diversity. Overall, there are no significant differences in sustainability perceptions between charitable and non-charitable HMSPs. Nevertheless, charitable HMSPs place more importance on social sustainability in comparison with non-charitable HMSPs.

Originality/value

The study results facilitate understanding about HMSPs' sustainability perceptions and sustainable home modifications in the ageing society, which facilities theory advancement and industry practice in the home modification area.

Citation

Hu, X. (2021), "Sustainability perceptions of home modification service providers for older Australians", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 28 No. 9, pp. 2754-2771. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-12-2019-0681