Understanding Everyday Challenges of Aging with Disability Through Lived Experiences

Among the 43% of adults over 65 who have a disability is a subset who are aging with disability, meaning that they are managing a disability acquired earlier in life as well as age-related changes. Little is known about the everyday experiences, challenges, and unmet needs of individuals aging with disabilities.

We analyzed in-depth qualitative data from the Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Solution Strategies (ACCESS) study to explore and compare everyday activity challenges among people aging with long-term mobility and sensory disabilities. Participants (N=180; ages 60-79) included adults from three disability groups: vision, mobility, and hearing. Through structured interviews we explored their lived experiences of everyday activity challenges for six categories of activities in the home and community.

For each disability group, we identified and compared the activities reported as ‘most difficult’ in each category as well as the most frequently cited challenge themes across all activities. For challenges that were common across disability groups, we provide contextual details from participants’ discussions and discuss areas of overlap and distinction between groups.

Findings provide a rich understanding of the unique challenges adults aging with disabilities face across activities and allow for comparability between individuals with sensory and mobility disabilities. We identified opportunities for technology innovations and interventions to support health and well-being; community participation; and to sustain engagement in daily activities for this understudied population.