GREEN: Cool & Care—Research and Development of Greening Measures in Nursing Homes in Austria. Technical and Social Interconnections

Katharina Halbmayer, Jutta Hollands, Sara Alasu, Azra Korjenic, Barbara Pichler, Elisabeth Reitinger, Eva Zojer, Bente Knoll, Agnes Renkin and Ralf Dopheide
Additional contact information
Katharina Halbmayer: Research Unit of Ecological Building Technologies, Institute of Material Technology, Building Physics and Building Ecology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, A-1040 Vienna, Austria
Jutta Hollands: Research Unit of Ecological Building Technologies, Institute of Material Technology, Building Physics and Building Ecology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, A-1040 Vienna, Austria
Sara Alasu: Research Unit of Ecological Building Technologies, Institute of Material Technology, Building Physics and Building Ecology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, A-1040 Vienna, Austria
Azra Korjenic: Research Unit of Ecological Building Technologies, Institute of Material Technology, Building Physics and Building Ecology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, A-1040 Vienna, Austria
Barbara Pichler: Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Vienna, A-1080 Vienna, Austria
Elisabeth Reitinger: Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Vienna, A-1080 Vienna, Austria
Eva Zojer: Department of Research and Innovation, Health Agency of Lower Austria, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria
Bente Knoll: B-NK GmbH Büro für Nachhaltige Kompetenz, Schoenbrunner Strasse 59-61/10, A-1050 Vienna, Austria
Agnes Renkin: B-NK GmbH Büro für Nachhaltige Kompetenz, Schoenbrunner Strasse 59-61/10, A-1050 Vienna, Austria
Ralf Dopheide: Dipl.-Ing. Ralf Dopheide e.U. Schoenbrunner Strasse 59-61/10, A-1050 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: According to demographic data, the percentage of elderly people within the population is growing, representing a vulnerable group to the effects of increasing heat, but little attention has been paid to developed adaptation measures. In addition, many older people leave their familiar homes and live in nursing homes. The person-centred care pursues creating spaces of high living quality for these people in nursing homes, to which plants and greenery can contribute. Greening is also considered an effective climate change adaptation measure. To create healthy conditions for this vulnerable group of elderly, both technical and social factors must be considered, and accordingly, a successful solution can only be achieved in an interdisciplinary way. The research and development of the project “Green: Cool & Care” dealt with this outset from a building physics, social, and nursing science perspective, and concepts to integrate greening measures in nursing homes were developed jointly by researchers, planners, staff, volunteers, and residents. For this purpose, measurement campaigns of air quality parameters, individual interviews and focus groups, as well as co-creative workshops were conducted aiming to include the objective building conditions as well as the subjective needs in developing and, in a further step, implementing greening measures.

Keywords: indoor environment quality; elderly care; nursing home; healthy cities; urban green infrastructure; plant-based solutions; interactions between urban green and human wellbeing; interdisciplinary approach; co-creation; climate change adaption; hygrothermal comfort; vulnerable population groups (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/20/11469/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/20/11469/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:20:p:11469-:d:658416

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().