The Brazilian Ministry of Health produced guidance on home safety for older people, which is available on its Virtual Library Webpage (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2018b). The state of São Paulo has adopted a “Universal Design” for guiding the construction of affordable homes and villas in the state. As part of it, there is a public document with guidance towards home adaptation aiming at including all citizens with special needs over the life-course (Government of the State of São Paulo, n.d.). Some manuals for carers also include guidance on home modification, for example, the Alzheimer’s Carer Manual (d’Alencar et al., 2010). Health professionals frequently provide guidance to patients regarding home safety. However, we could not find any document (widely-known by the population) with guidance towards home modification.

References:

Brazilian Ministry of Health. (2018b). Casa segura para o idoso. http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/dicas-em-saude/2920-casa-segura-para-o-idoso

d’Alencar, R. S., Pedreira dos Santos, E. M., and Tebaldi Pinto, J. B. (2010). http://www.uesc.br/editora/livrosdigitais2015/alzheimer_manual_cuidador.pdf

Government of the State of São Paulo. (n.d.). Desenho Universal: Habitação de interesse social. Retrieved November 18, 2019, from http://www.mpsp.mp.br/portal/page/portal/Cartilhas/manual-desenho-universal.pdf

Yes. Suggestions are listed under the domain of Housing in the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project

Furthermore, since 2005, the Hong Kong Housing Society has set up an Elderly Resources Centre and Age-friendly home website. The centre offers experimental tours and professional consultation services in order to suggest suitable home products and modification for the elderly, including for the individuals with dementia, and their carers (The Hong Kong Housing Society). Other than regular age-friendly product update, its website (http://www.hkhselderly.com/afh/?lang=en) also helps to evaluate the degree of age-friendliness of a home environment by completing a 20-item assessment and make suggestions based on the results.

References:

The Hong Kong Housing Society. Elderly Resources Centre & Website. Retrieved from https://www.hkhs.com/en/our-business/elderly-housing/elderly-resources-centre

The Ministry of Social Affairs has led various ad-hoc initiatives to renovate residences of elderly living in villages. However, as of 2014 the renovation funding allocated per house was only IDR 10 million. The Minister of Social Affairs then argued that this budget is limited to evoke a sense of community spirit in the villages and entice neighbours to help the rebuilding process, thus saving labour costs (Marbun, n.d.).

References:

Marbun, J. (n.d.). Kementerian Sosial Terus Perbaiki Rumah Lansia. 2014.

Part IX, section 36, subsection 1, stipulates that the owner or agent of the owner of an existing private premises, who has rented or intends to rent, or lease their premises, should, if requested by a person with a disability, make alterations to the premises or specific areas of the premise, to allow easy access to and utility by a person with a disability. Private premise owners and/or public or commercial premises are exempt for modifications if they are structurally impracticable, or the alterations would cause disproportionate or under burden.

Additionally, the National Policy for persons with disabilities (1999) provides guidelines for partnership between the government and civil society in addressing equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. Specifically, the National Housing Trust (NHT), a government-funded agency, reserved a percentage of houses specifically for persons with disabilities. Once a house is assigned to a person with a mobility disability, the NHT modifies the home to allow easy access. The NHT also has a special benefit programme to assist people with disabilities in purchasing or building homes (PIOJ, 2009).

References:

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). (2009). Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan Persons with Disabilities Draft Sector Plan. Available from: http://www.caribbeanelections.com/eDocs/strategy/jm_strategy/jm_Persons_with_Disabilities_2009.pdf