Experiences of occupational justice for residents of an Australian retirement village: A case study

Experiences of occupational justice for residents of an Australian retirement village: A case study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Experiences of occupational justice for residents of an Australian retirement village: A case study Kieva Richards, Danielle Hitch This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755579/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted daily life worldwide, with public health measures restricting social interactions, mobility, and access to meaningful occupations. Retirement villages, as increasingly popular housing options for older adults, provide structured environments that supports social participation and well-being. Previous research has examined the benefits of retirement village living, yet little is known about how the pandemic affected residents’ occupational engagement and justice. This study investigated how residents of an Australian retirement village engaged in daily occupations during the early years of the pandemic, focussing on the impact of disruptions on their routines and overall well-being. Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Findings: Nine residents completed the survey and two (‘Sophia’ and ‘Leonie’) also undertook semi structured interviews. Four themes emerged: (1) doing—residents sought to maintain meaningful occupational engagement, often adapting activities to meet public health measures; (2) being—motivation and capabilities influenced participation, with some facing financial constraints and health barriers; (3) becoming—residents demonstrated resilience and adaptability, though opportunities for growth varied; and (4) belonging—social connectedness within the village supported well-being, though some faced challenges in sustaining relationships. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of flexible and socially supportive environments in promoting occupational justice for older adults, particularly during periods of disruption. While retirement villages offer structured participation opportunities, individual experiences are shaped by personal, social, and financial factors. Future efforts should focus on enhancing inclusive and adaptable engagement opportunities, ensuring all residents can participate equitably, regardless of health, mobility, or financial constraints. doing being becoming belonging occupational engagement retirement villages Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7755579","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":621864342,"identity":"c105459b-16ca-44e2-aeb8-d38adc2b7fd6","order_by":0,"name":"Kieva Richards","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"La Trobe University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kieva","middleName":"","lastName":"Richards","suffix":""},{"id":621864343,"identity":"ec48a1d0-108d-4810-91f4-a436ca15ce46","order_by":1,"name":"Danielle Hitch","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Deakin University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Danielle","middleName":"","lastName":"Hitch","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-01 01:53:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755579/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755579/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107482456,"identity":"90be1083-c94b-400a-ad94-54eda5f8f9b8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:23:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":672289,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MainText01.10.2025.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7755579/v1_covered_87505a7d-5826-4706-b404-fa0fff5b6e02.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Experiences of occupational justice for residents of an Australian retirement village: A case study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"doing, being, becoming, belonging, occupational engagement, retirement villages ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755579/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7755579/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted daily life worldwide, with public health measures restricting social interactions, mobility, and access to meaningful occupations. Retirement villages, as increasingly popular housing options for older adults, provide structured environments that supports social participation and well-being. Previous research has examined the benefits of retirement village living, yet little is known about how the pandemic affected residents’ occupational engagement and justice. This study investigated how residents of an Australian retirement village engaged in daily occupations during the early years of the pandemic, focussing on the impact of disruptions on their routines and overall well-being.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethods: Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFindings: Nine residents completed the survey and two (‘Sophia’ and ‘Leonie’) also undertook semi structured interviews. Four themes emerged: (1) doing—residents sought to maintain meaningful occupational engagement, often adapting activities to meet public health measures; (2) being—motivation and capabilities influenced participation, with some facing financial constraints and health barriers; (3) becoming—residents demonstrated resilience and adaptability, though opportunities for growth varied; and (4) belonging—social connectedness within the village supported well-being, though some faced challenges in sustaining relationships.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusion: The study highlights the importance of flexible and socially supportive environments in promoting occupational justice for older adults, particularly during periods of disruption. While retirement villages offer structured participation opportunities, individual experiences are shaped by personal, social, and financial factors. 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