Institutional Place Identity and Life Adaptation among Elderly People in Taiwan

Background: Many elderly people in Taiwan move to institutional care due to disability or insufficient family resources. This study aimed to understand the place identity and life adaptation of institutional residents and their influencing factors, and to explore the correlation between these two. Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional survey method. A total of 120 cases were collected with structured questionnaires, and SPSS 22.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. Results: The place identity was the highest in the sense of belonging, while the sense of participation was the worst; adaptation to life was the best in terms of care management, and the worst in terms of adaptation to life and assistive devices. The length of stay in the institution, daily activities, and the number of chronic diseases were significantly different from place identity, and the number of chronic diseases was significantly different from life adaptation. Conclusions: The results of this study can be used as a reference for institutions to improve the quality of care. It is suggested that institutions can organize more activities to promote interaction and participation among residents, to strengthen their local identity and life adaptation.