2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

336008
Mapping Massachusetts Municipal Auxiliary Dwelling Unit Laws: An Aging Perspective


Monday, November 2, 2015

Travis Gagen, B.S., M.P.H., doctoral student, Health Policy and Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
Background/Purpose: The demographic of older adult’s ≥65 in the United States continues to increase from 13% (40 million) in 2010 to 20% (88 million) by 2050. This increase places pressures on society given the need for activities of daily living assistance, limited incomes in retirement, and lack of infrastructure to support an individual wishing to remain in their home and community. Auxiliary Dwelling Units (ADU’s) are an innovative approach to care for an aged or disabled individual. This is the first study focusing on the relationship of zoning laws and aging-in-place in Massachusetts.

Methods: This policy map uses content analysis of legal text surrounding detached ADU’s. Massachusetts 351 municipalities were investigated. Zoning and public health bylaws were obtained from official municipal websites. Explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria guided collection of variables from jurisdictions legal text. Laws are characterized according to overall scale of stringency and scope.

Results/Outcomes: The prevalence, distribution, and variation in characteristics of detached ADU laws across Massachusetts jurisdictions will be described. The legal climate permitting detached ADU’s to care for an aged or disabled individual in Massachusetts is observed. A model law is presented.

Conclusions: Collection and analysis of ADU laws can be used to: 1) describe and compare the demographic characteristics across jurisdictions; 2) use secondary explanatory variables to analyze jurisdictional characteristics and political factors on the outcome of ADU laws; 3) develop dialogue for provisions in zoning laws to accommodate ADU’s for the purpose of aging-in-place. Results can be used to develop future studies.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the current demographic of Massachusetts jurisdictions permitting ADU to care for aged or disabled individuals.

Keyword(s): Aging, Healthy Housing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a second year doctoral student focusing on 'aging policy'. My specific interests are community-dwelling older adults and their ability to remain independent within the community. I work closely under my research advisors who are injury and policy specialists. I also consult a number of gerontologists in the field. I have spent the past two years writing a NIA grant and publication related to community-dwelling older adults.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3372.0: Innovative Approaches to Evaluating Public Health Laws