Identifying Typologies of Service Needs for Aging In Place Among Older Adults: Influencing Factors and Differences In Aging-In-Place Intentions

Background and Purpose:

This study aims to support the realization of Aging in Place for older adults in South Korea, a society that has recently entered super-aged status. Aging in Place refers to older adults' ability to continue living in their own homes and communities as they age. Specifically, this study: (1) classifies the types of services that older adults perceive as necessary for Aging in Place using a person-centered approach; (2) examines the characteristics and influencing factors of each identified type; and (3) analyzes differences in Aging in Place intention across the identified types.

Methods:

Data from the 2023 Survey of Older Koreans, constructed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, were utilized. The sample consisted of 9,951 older adults aged 65 and older. The primary variables—services perceived as necessary for Aging in Place—comprised six domains: housing environment improvement, daily living support, safety support, medical and health services, accompaniment to medical appointments and outing support, and counseling services. Predictors included sociodemographic factors (gender, residential area, age, marital status, education level, employment status, and household size), economic factors (annual household income and housing ownership), health factors (health status, chronic disease, disability, activities of daily living, depression, and cognitive function), and environmental factors (housing satisfaction, community accessibility, and community environment satisfaction). Latent Class Analysis (LCA) using Mplus 9.0 was employed to classify older adults based on their perceived service needs. A three-step approach with binary logistic regression was then applied to explore the characteristics of each latent class.

Results:

LCA identified two distinct classes: the 'Low-Dependency Independent Maintenance type' (47.7%) and the 'Complex Support Needs type' (52.6%). Using the Complex Support Needs type as the reference group, several significant predictors were identified. Among sociodemographic factors, residing in rural areas, being of more advanced age, and not being economically active were associated with a higher likelihood of belonging to the Complex Support Needs type. Among health factors, lower activities of daily living functioning and higher depressive symptoms were significant predictors. Among environmental factors, lower housing satisfaction and higher community environment satisfaction were significant. No significant economic factors were found. Regarding Aging in Place intention, 97.4% of the Low-Dependency type and 94.9% of the Complex Support Needs type expressed intention to remain in the community, and this difference was statistically significant.

Conclusions and Implications:

This study addresses the limitations of variable-centered approaches by applying LCA as a person-centered method to empirically classify Aging in Place service need types among older adults. Identifying both shared and distinguishing characteristics across latent classes enables the development of targeted intervention strategies tailored to older adults' diverse needs. Furthermore, examining the association between class-specific characteristics and Aging in Place intention provides a basis for prioritizing policy interventions and establishing more responsive community-based aging support systems in South Korea.