Australian retirement village residents: wellbeing profiles and factors associated with low wellbeing

The characteristics of Australian retirement village residents, an under-researched population, are not well understood. Knowledge of their wellbeing and modifiable factors associated with low wellbeing would aid in the introduction of health promotion measures and supports to facilitate healthy ageing-in-place. A novel approach utilising latent class analysis (LCA), a statistical method not previously employed to study this population, was undertaken to analyse cross-sectional survey data from 871 participants aged =65 years from retirement villages in Queensland, Australia. LCA identified latent, i.e. unobserved, underlying and often difficult to measure, groups within this population based on the responses of individuals to multiple observed variables. Survey participants were divided into groups, each with a distinct profile associated with a wellbeing state, as determined by responses to questions about physical health, unplanned hospitalisations, cognitive health and social connectedness. Multinomial logistic regression explored the relationship between modifiable health and lifestyle characteristics and membership of a particular wellbeing group. The median age of participants was 82 years (interquartile range = 76-88). While 69.0 per cent reported good to excellent health, polypharmacy was evident with 45.6 per cent of participants taking five or more prescription medications. In the previous 12 months, 33.3 per cent had experienced one or more falls and 30.6 per cent an unplanned hospitalisation. Distinct profiles were identified for three wellbeing groups: high (57.7% of participants), moderate (20.6%) and low wellbeing (21.7%). Injurious falls, limited ability to prepare meals and debilitating pain were associated with the moderate and low wellbeing groups. Physical activity significantly lowered the probability of a retirement village resident being in the low wellbeing group. Our findings highlight falls prevention, maintaining adequate nutrition, pain management and regular physical activity as actions that may optimise wellbeing, mitigate functional decline and support the independence of retirement village residents into later years of life.