Life Plan Community Health and Well-Being Study Research Protocol

The proposed project will assess the impact of transitioning into and residing in a Life Plan Community on older adult residents’ attitudes, perceptions, health, and well-being. This study will include four main components: 1) A self-administered survey taken annually by Life Plan Community residents for five years, 2) Semi-structured interviews with residents conducted every year 3) Photovoice and diary records maintained by residents between interviews and 4) Secondary data analysis with a comparison sample of community dwelling older adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). HRS is a survey conducted by the University of Michigan which includes more than 22,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. The study collects data on physical, social, and emotional outcomes, finances, demographics, and other characteristics. Together, these four components will provide multiple sources of data to assess objective questions of health and well-being and enable us to delve deeper into residents’ experiences moving into and living within the community.