Designing for Healthy Cognitive Ageing Project: Outcomes-focused eDelphi Consensus Exercise Data, 2021-2024

The e-Delphi exercise aimed to address a limitation of previous literature on designing homes for healthy cognitive ageing, namely that outcomes had been researcher-defined and did not reflect the perspectives of older people or professionals working in design, construction and delivery of housing. Preceded by an on-line questionnaire identifying potential outcomes, the e-Delphi exercise itself had three rounds, as follows:

Round 1: Panellists were invited to pick their ‘top ten’ outcomes from a list of options concerning
• the characteristics of a supportive home,
• what activities the home should support,
• how people should feel in a supportive home,
• desired outcomes for communities, and
• desired outcomes for professionals in home design and development, in construction and in housing supply and management.

Round 2: Panellists were presented with results from Round 1 and invited to agree or disagree with a series of consensus statements about characteristics of supportive homes, derived from the results. They were then asked to consider further
• areas of disagreement from Round 1,
• ordering and categorising feeling/emotions when living in a supportive home,
• ordering and categorising activities that a home should support,
• their beliefs about how making changes to a home might or might not support desired activities more easily.

Round 3: Panellists were presented with further results from Round 1 then asked to focus on the impacts of supportive design for industry and government and what kinds of changes might be needed to mainstream supportive design. These included:
• legislative change
• industry regulation
• awareness in industry
• awareness among home owners/tenants

Panellists were older people and professionals involved in designing and delivering housing for healthy cognitive ageing.

Five main outcome areas meaningful to panellists were identified: staying independent, feeling safe, living in an adaptable home, enabling physical activity and enabling enjoyed activities. These were demonstrated to include multiple factors that panellists felt could contribute to them.