Library

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Here you can find up-to-date information on all your health, home modification and consumer needs. The library is continually growing so be sure to visit often for updates and new articles.

A Research-Based Strategy for Managing Housing Adaptations:
Study Protocol for a Quasi-Experimental Trial (2014)

This paper describes the design of a project evaluating the effects of using a research-based strategy for managing housing adaptations (HAs); the evaluation targets clients’ perspectives in terms of activity, participation, usability, fear of falling, fall incidence, use of mobility devices, and health-related quality of life, and determines the societal effects of HAs in terms of costs.

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A Scoping Review of Home Modification Interventions – Mapping the Evidence Base (2019)

This article summarizes seventy-seven studies from 16 countries to examine how home modifications evidence is measured.

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Accessibility Requirements for Covered Multifamily Dwellings Under the Fair Housing Act

This 2013 document of the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development provides guidelines regarding the persons and structures that are covered by the accessible design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act.

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Accessible Home Design

An easy to read online book that gives tips on making a home accessible. The site also has an architecture section with more information on accessible homes and healthcare architecture.

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ADA Standards for Accessible Design

These 2010 Standards were set for newly designed and constructed facilities that fall under the purview of the ADA to be accessible and usable by persons with disabilities.

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Aging-Accessible Homes Infographic

Aging and Accessible Homes Infographic developed by the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey that includes statistics on percentages of homes with certain accessibility features and percentages of older adults with difficulty completing specific activities of daily living.

 

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Assessment Tools for Individuals & Families

This compilation of assessment tools provides examples of evaluations that can be helpful with determining home modification needs of consumers.

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Assistive Devices

A fact sheet developed by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence on the benefits of assistive devices and how to obtain them.

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Building Community Capacity to Serve Older Adults: The Role of Area Agencies on Aging in Home Modification and Repair

This Data Brief highlights key findings from the 2019 National Survey of Area Agencies on Aging on how Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) are providing and funding home modification and repair activities. It was developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence in partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging as part of the Administration for Community Living project, “Promoting Aging in Place by Enhancing Access to Home Modifications.”

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CAPABLE Trial: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nurse, Occupational Therapist and Handyman to Reduce Disability Among Older Adults: Rationale and Design (2014)

This paper presents the rationale and design for a clinical trial of a new interdisciplinary program aimed to reduce disability among low income older adults; the outcomes included decreased disability in self-care (ADL), improvement in instrumental ADLS, strength, balance, walking speed, and health care utilization.

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Catch Yourself

A fact sheet developed by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence on Simple Steps to Prevent Falls.

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Check for Safety A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults (Verifique la seguridad: Una lista de cotejo sobre prevención de caídas para adultos mayores)

A brochure in Spanish by the Centers for Disease Control identifying hazards and suggesting changes in the home to reduce the risk of falling

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Check for Safety: A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults

This Centers for Disease Control checklist, organized by area of the home, aims to help identify and eliminate fall hazards in the home.

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Clinical Reasoning Guideline For Home Modification Interventions. (2015)

By using a multi-phase process, this article analyzes the complex clinical process that allows occupational therapists to deliver complex interventions while delivering home modification services.

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Community Aging In Place, Advancing Better Living For Elders: A Bio-Behavioral-Environmental Intervention To Improve Function And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Disabled Older Adults (2011)

This paper determines the effect size and acceptability of a multicomponent behavior and home repair intervention for low-income disabled older adults. The results found that the Community Aging in Place Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) intervention was acceptable to participants and feasible to provide and showed promising results.

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Complex Environmental Modifications (2015)

This document from The American Journal of Occupational Therapy provides a description of complex environmental modifications and highlights the role of occupational therapy practitioners as providers of service within this area.

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Comprehensive Assessment and Solution Process for Aging Residents (CASPAR)

Comprehensive Assessment and Solution Process for Aging Residents (CASPAR).This assessment tool, developed through two Small Business Innovation Research grants by researchers at Georgia Tech and the company Extended Home Living Solutions, enables practitioners to identify a client’s aging in place needs by collecting information that can be used by building professionals and health care professionals (e.g., occupational therapists) to specify the most appropriate modifications. This assessment considers the home environment, the resident’s abilities and preferences, and the interaction between the two, combining the specific concerns of consumers, building professionals, and occupational therapists in performing home modification assessments.

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Consumer Awareness Materials for Underserved Older Adult Populations

This extensive list of consumer materials focused on home modifications was created by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence as part of an Administration for Community Living Project.

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Cost Benefit Considerations Of Preventing Elderly Falls Through Environmental Modifications To Homes in Hana, Maui (2008)

This paper estimates the cost benefit of the modifications from construction costs and published reports of effectiveness and cost of treating falls in Hawaii. The average cost of home modifications was $800 and the average annual averted medical cost of falling was $1728.

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Cost-Benefit Analysis of Fall Injuries Prevented by a Programme of Home Modifications: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (2015)

This is the first randomized controlled trial to examine the benefits of home modification for reducing fall injury costs in the general population. The results show a convincing economic justification for undertaking relatively low-cost home repairs and installing safety features to prevent falls.

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Department of Veterans Affairs: Home Modification Programs

List of special grants for veterans needing home modification.

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Effect Of Home Modification Interventions On The Participation of Community-Dwelling Adults With Health Conditions: A Systematic Review. (2017)

This article discussed interventions that demonstrated greater efficacy to improve occupational performance. Implications for occupational therapy practice, education, and research are also discussed.

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Effectiveness of Assistive Technology and Environmental Interventions in Maintaining Independence and Reducing Home Care Costs for the Frail Elderly. (1999)

The results of the study indicated that the rate of decline in the frail elderly can be slowed through certain in-home personnel costs, reduced through a systematic approach to providing Assistive Technology and Environmental Interventions.

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Effects of a Multifactorial Fall Prevention Program on Fall Incidence and Physical Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Risk of Falls; (2012)

A multifactorial fall prevention program with exercise intervention may reduce the risk of falls in the short-term but not necessarily in the long-term. Awareness is key to reduce falls.

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Elder Fall Prevention for Native Americans

A fact sheet from the Albuquerque area southwest tribal Epidemiology Center

This resource is a copy righted document and its content, specifically the photographic portrait images belong to the AASTEC Tribal Injury Prevention Program.

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Environmental and Behavioral Circumstances and Consequences of Falls in a Senior Living Development(2017)

This article investigated the role of environmental and behavioral factors surrounding fall incidents in a senior living community. Falls occurring in the bathroom can cause severe damage; three types of activities and five behavioral factors related to falls are identified.

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Environmental Assessment And Modification To Prevent Falls In Older People (2011)

This paper assesses the effectiveness of an environmental falls prevention intervention delivered by qualified occupational therapists or unqualified trained assessors. The study found that an environmental assessment prescribed by an occupational therapist significantly reduced the number of falls in high-risk individuals whereas that prescribed by a trained assessor did not.

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Evaluation Basics For Fall Prevention Coalitions

Evaluation Basics for Fall Prevention Coalitions and Programs, Gretchen Alkema, PhD & Phoebe Liebig, PhD

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Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Secondary Prevention of Falls in Older Adults. Gerontology; (2003)

This article aims to provide reliable and consistent practice guidelines to help prevent secondary falls in elderly adults. The guidelines include home and institutional assessment guidelines as well as recommended interventions.

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Five Quick and Easy Home Modifications You Can Do

A one-page companion piece to the Home Modification Checklist, developed by the National Home Safety and Home Modification Work Group.

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Funding Sources For Home Modifications and Repairs

As part of the Administration for Community Living-funded project, Promoting Aging in Place by Enhancing Access to Home Modifications, the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and ADvancing States created this Technical Assistance Brief. The Brief outlines various funding sources State Units on Aging and other state agencies might consider in implementing policies and programs. The goal is to increase access to and the availability of home modifications and repairs.

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Helping Older Adults Age Safely in Place

Home Modification and Repairs for Older Adults

As the aging population in the United States increases, the number of older adults living in HUD-assisted housing also continues to grow rapidly. Both property owners and residents benefit from supportive home environments. For instance, residents typically want to live independently for as long as possible and stable tenure reduces management costs. Even so, as older adults capability’s change, configuration of their homes can present many challenges to living safely and independently. Adaptations of the living environment, called home modifications, help improve the comfort and safety of older persons, allowing them to flourish in independent housing and age-in-place.

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Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (Home FAST) and Non-OT Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (Home FAST)

Home FAST is a home assessment tool designed to identify older people at risk of falling because of hazards within their home environment. The tool consists of 25 items that include a range of indoor and outdoor environmental and functional concerns. A dichotomous assessment, the user marks whether or not a hazard is present. A higher score indicates a higher risk of falling.

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Home Modification

A brief introduction to home modification, a list of everyday situations that pose risks for falls.

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Home Modification Allocation for Underserved Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities in California

Includes a review of types and costs of the most prevalent of home modifications, funding streams at the federal and state levels, and an Appendix listing recommended home modifications for specified conditions related to military service.

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Home Modification and Repair Services and Needs in Indian Country: A Data Brief of the Title VI Native American Aging Programs Survey

This August 2021 Data Brief shares the results of a survey by USC and n4a of 276 Title VI programs serving Native American elders across the United States. It identifies the home modification needs of this diverse population, the challenges of the housing stock, and strategies used by local providers to ensure supportive home environments.

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Home Modification and Repairs for Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities: A Select Inventory of Area Agency on Aging Activities

This inventory features home modification and repair activities conducted by Area Agencies on Aging and may be used to inform professionals, providers, and policymakers of programs in their state and communities for possible replication. Each state listing contains descriptions and web site information for select home modification and repair programs of Area Agencies on Aging across the country.

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Home Modification and Repairs for Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities: A Select Inventory of Home Modification and Repair Programs Serving Native American Elders

This inventory features home modification and repair activities conducted by agencies serving Native American elders and may be used to inform professionals, providers, and policymakers of programs in their state and communities for possible replication. Each state listing contains descriptions and web site information for select home modification and repair programs of Older Americans Act Title VI grantees and other agencies serving Native American elders.

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Home Modification and Repairs For Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities: An Inventory of State Level Activities

Designed to illuminate the range of home modification and repair activities conducted by state-level agencies across the U.S., this compilation may be used to inform professionals, providers, and policymakers of programs and funding sources in their state, and the activities of other states for possible replication.

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Home Modification and Repairs for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for State Units on Aging

This report by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence and ADvancing States reports on a national survey of home modification and repair efforts of State Units on Aging

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Home Modification Assistance Enacted State Legislation

A list created by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of state programs and tax credits that help finance accessibility improvements to homes.

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Home Modification Checklist

A checklist of simple home modifications that individuals and caregivers can do to increase safety and independence with resources on funding sources, providers, and more, developed by the National Home Safety and Home Modification Work Group.
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Home Modification Discussion Archives

Hosted by the University of Buffalo, this site features archives of monthly online discussion on various aspects of home modifications.

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Home Modification Service Delivery During COVID-19

Now, more than ever, it is important to consider the safety and support of homes. We are “safer at home” when it comes to the new Coronavirus, but our homes can have fall hazards such as throw rugs or poor lighting that could make it difficult or even dangerous for residents and guests of various ages to move about. We created a fact sheet “Home Modification Service Delivery During COVID-19” that contains tips for professionals and consumers to consider when making changes to the home during these challenging times.

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Home Modification Tax Credits: State Examples

This inventory of state tax credits that include home modifications was created by the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology as part of the Administration for Community Living project, “Promoting Aging in Place by Enhancing Access to Home Modifications.”

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Home Modification: Making Your Home Safer

A  fact sheet by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology with recommendations on how to make the home safer and more supportive, many of which are low or no cost.

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