Health, housing and much more recently, assistive technology, are key
determinants of elderly independence in British Columbia. This thesis
discusses these three determinants in some detail, and also stresses
their interrelationship with each other. Throughout the entire thesis,
the elderly's preference to age-in-place (Blackie, 1986; Wheeler, 1982)
is stressed.
In the issue of health, the current community-based health care
delivery system of the British Columbia Ministry of Health's Continuing
Care Division is compared and contrasted with a "counterpart" in the
United States: the On Lok Health Services System in San Francisco,
California. On Lok is discussed to highlight its effectiveness in
delivering a community-based holistic health care system for a group of
aging-in-place elderly in need of long term care with relatively low cost.
In the issue of housing, the thesis investigates three avenues in which
architects can apply their skills to maximize aging-in-place possibilities
for our elderly in the context of British Columbia. Constraints by
building codes, health care regulations, real estate market expectations
and the aging characteristics of British Columbia's elderly are also
highlighted to bring context to the discussion.
In the issue of assistive technology, given the huge range of product
development, the thesis focuses on one particularly interesting
communication device - the Videophone. The Videophone is discussed
to explore its potential impact for elderly independence, especially for
the future.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/3609 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Lao, Adrian |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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