原居安老是一種社會照顧模式，其要旨在於讓長者在獲得社區照顧服務的情況下，留在居所生活，減低或延遲遷進安老院終老的機會。當獨居、年邁或身體孱弱的長者確實需要遷進安老院時，安老服務社工、家人或護老者便要為長者安排搬遷事宜，以提高其生活質素，保障其福祉。如長者已搬進安老院養老，社工、家人或護老者亦要提供所需服務，協助長者留在該院舍生活，減低遷移至另一所安老院的機會。長者能否留在原來的居所或安老院生活，是人到晚年一種對身體和精神健康的挑戰，也可能關乎社工對長者應付環境壓力的評估。長者晚年生活照顧涉及的範圍頗為廣泛，社工難以獨力完成原居安老的服務目標，需要結合其他專業團體的力量，創造適合長者原居安老的生活條件，保障長者的身心健康。安老服務政策制訂者以原居安老的理念和人在環境的理論為本，結合活躍理論、角色理論、繼往理論、輔助性生活、社區照顧、家居照顧和長期照顧等理念，制訂現代化的安老政策，造福長者。

Aging in Place: Its Ideology, Theoretical Assumptions, and Practice

Older people, including frail ones, tend to stay in their own homes, even though they would be better off moving to elderly homes due to health-related problems and/or psychosocial problems. This tendency means that society has to help older people live independently in their own homes as long as possible. This is known as aging in place, a relatively new term in the field of gerontology. Contemporary gerontological social workers, family members, caregivers, and other professional workers should provide older people staying in their own homes with proper care and community support services to prevent a costly, traumatic, and inappropriate move to residential care service units, often to a more dependent care facility. Nonetheless, it is improper to force older people who would benefit from moving to elderly care units or intensive care facilities to remain in their own homes that have been deemed unfit. Housing designers, social workers, medical and health care staff, family members, and gerontological service providers should work together to increase older people’s chances of aging in place. Policymakers in the field of elderly services should make use of the principle of aging in place and the theory of person-in-environment, together with concepts and theories such as activity theory, role theory, continuity theory, assisted living, community care, and long-term care, to develop modern social policies for older people.