Easing Transitions: Service Design for Older Adults

Abstract

The transition into a retirement community for older adults can be a time of great stress, leading to social isolation, loneliness and loss of meaning. To reduce this stress associated with the transition process, a feeling of control is necessary to facilitate openness to new environments and socialization. Through the use of ethnographic research methods such as environmental observation and participant interviews, three themes, ‘Feeling of Value’, ‘Deep Connections’ and ‘Feeling at Home’, were uncovered that defined meaning for residents in the community. A concept that satisfies these themes was then developed through the use of codesign methods and iterative feedback with residents and experts. The purpose of this project is to research and understand how meaning is defined by residents and develop a service that facilitates easy adoption and transition into the retirement community.