Disability Levels and Correlates among Older Mobile Home Dwellers, an NHATS analysis

Objectives:We sought to investigate disability levels and other health correlates among older adults living in mobile or manufactured homes;an understudied housing choice for nearly 20 million Americans.

Method:We sampled adults aged 65 years or older (n= 7609) of whom 344 lived in mobile homes from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS).The survey gathered data on general demographic characteristics, chronic conditions, falls, disability status or functional limitations,and environmental modifications done to homes to accommodate disability and how they correlate with disability levels.

Results:Respondents living in mobile homes had lower education and income and were less likely to have Medigap or non-governmental nursing home insurance.They were more likely to smoke, have lung and heart disease, report fair or poor general health status.Older adults living in mobile homes and reporting disability and falls were significantly younger than their counterparts in other types of residence and yet had the same prevalence of disability and falls (mean age: 73.8 in mobile home dwellers versus 77.6 in others, P value <0.0001).White respondents, disabled or not, were more likely to have environmental modifications done to their mobile homes than minorities in the cohort.For those reporting disability, mobile home dwellers were less likely to have bathroom safety modifications.

Conclusion:Older adults living in mobile homes had more prevalent risk factors for disease, comorbidities and disability at younger age,and yet had less environmental modifications done to their homes when compared to the rest of community dwellers.It is important to revisit howpolicymakers evaluate this growing subset of society.