Village Life: Independence, Loneliness, and Quality of Life in Retirement Villages with Extra Care

This report by ILC-UK surveyed residents in retirement villages that offer extra care support to explore if:

• It can promote greater independence and provide greater choice in planning for later life than would otherwise be available.
• The communal environment has the potential to reduce social isolation, particularly for residents who move from more rural or remote homes.
• It can also promote residents' quality of life, enhancing it compared to what they would experience either in the general community or in another residential care setting.

On all counts the experiences of older people demonstrated the positive contribution extra care housing, including those in Audley Retirement Villages (opens new window) made on their quality of life, reaffirming their decision to move and providing a higher degree of control; in particular, reporting lower levels of loneliness than in the community.