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Tang JYM, Chui CHK, Lou VWQ, Chiu RLH, Kwok R, Tse M, Leung AYM, Chau PH, Lum TYS. The Contribution of Sense of Community to the Association Between Age-Friendly Built Environment and Health in a High-Density City: A Cross-Sectional Study of Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Hong Kong. J Appl Gerontol 2021; 40:1687-1696. [PMID: 33554751 DOI: 10.1177/0733464821991298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Sense of community may be shaped by the quality of the physical environment and has potential health implications. Based on a survey of 2,247 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults living in Hong Kong, we tested the mediation effect of sense of community on the relationship between the quality of the built environment and physical and mental health using path analysis. The quality of the built environment was indicated by the age-friendliness of outdoor spaces and buildings. No direct association was found between the built environment and health outcomes, although age-friendly outdoor spaces were associated with better mental health. Sense of community mediated 14% of the total effect between outdoor spaces and mental health and 44.8% of the total effect between buildings and physical health, underscoring the importance of accommodating the social needs of middle-aged and older people in urban development in high-density cities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cheryl H K Chui
- Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Vivian W Q Lou
- Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.,Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Rebecca L H Chiu
- Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Robin Kwok
- Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Michael Tse
- Centre for Sports and Exercises, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Angela Y M Leung
- School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
| | - Pui-Hing Chau
- School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Terry Y S Lum
- Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.,Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Choi K, Lee Y, Basrak Z. Identifying Communities of Concern for Older Adults Using Spatial Analysis: Focusing on Accessibility to Health, Social, and Daily Services. J Appl Gerontol 2021; 40:1527-1532. [PMID: 33459129 DOI: 10.1177/0733464820978000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Ensuring accessibility to necessary services is critical for older adults. However, there often exist spatial disparities in the levels of accessibility to services. Because the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) has gained attention in the gerontology field, we used spatial analysis to identify communities of concern for older adults from the perspective of accessibility. We defined the communities of concern based on the proportion of older adults and the level of accessibility to health, social, and daily services via two specific modes of transportation-walking and public transit. Our findings show that newly developed communities tend to have less accessibility to necessary services, and aging communities are randomly distributed across the city. Our results call for interdisciplinary collaboration, between urban planning and gerontology professionals, to better understand the spatial pattern of aging communities and its implication for properly addressing the mobility needs of older adults in the communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwangyul Choi
- University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | | | - Zoe Basrak
- University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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3
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The Impacts of the Neighborhood Built Environment on Social Capital for Middle-Aged and Elderly Koreans. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13020756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the neighborhood built environment (NBE) aspects of age-friendly cities and communities (AFCCs) and social capital in the Korean context. We described and compared age differences when analyzing misfits of AFCC NBE and impacts on social capital. We collected the data (N = 1246) from two Korean communities; our multiple and binary logistic regression outcomes show that AFCC NBE aspects such as outdoor spaces, transportation, and housing are significant predictors of different subcategories of social capital. For the older group, the outdoor spaces misfit was significant for all three subcategories of social capital, but transportation and housing misfits were significant for the social trust and reciprocity index scores. For the middle-aged group, the outdoor spaces misfit was significant for social networking and participation, and a transportation misfit was significant for participation and social trust and reciprocity. Fewer misfits or better fits of outdoor spaces and transportation encouraged more networking, participation, social trust, and reciprocity. Dwelling type was important to predict social capital, especially for the older group. The present study confirmed the importance of AFCC NBE in predicting social capital and unique factors in the Korean context.
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Determining the importance and feasibility of various aspects of healthy ageing among older adults using concept mapping. AGEING & SOCIETY 2020. [DOI: 10.1017/s0144686x20001580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Research shows that healthy ageing is defined differently by older adults and researchers, who may put more or less weight on the physiological, psychological, societal and personal aspects of ageing. Although there is growing interest in the research literature on lay models of healthy ageing in socio-cultural context, little work has been done to determine how important or feasible the various components of healthy ageing are viewed to be by older adults. This study asked a convenience sample of 54 older adults in the circumpolar North to rate the importance and feasibility of 36 previously identified components of healthy ageing in their community. Results indicate that seniors in the sample place the most importance on aspects of the social and physical environment, while least important concepts included psychological and individual behaviours. However, most feasible aspects were individual behaviours and least feasible were aspects of the social and physical environment. Although older adults are able to construct a model of what healthy ageing should look like in their community, they do not always view the most important aspects of healthy ageing to be the most feasible to achieve, providing ample opportunity for public and social policy change.
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Sánchez-González D, Rojo-Pérez F, Rodríguez-Rodríguez V, Fernández-Mayoralas G. Environmental and Psychosocial Interventions in Age-Friendly Communities and Active Ageing: A Systematic Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E8305. [PMID: 33182710 PMCID: PMC7696667 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17228305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Background: The academic literature contains little information regarding the interventions that create age-friendly cities and communities in order to promote active ageing. Objectives: A systematic review was carried out to determine the available empirical evidence in relation to the characteristics, content and effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving environmental and psychosocial risk factors for older people, from the perspective of age-friendly communities and the promotion of active ageing. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the studies retained in this review were identified through a systematic search of the academic literature in selected electronic databases including Web of Science and Scopus. Independent critical appraisal and data extraction were conducted by two reviewers. The checklist was used to assess the quality of the articles. Findings: The search identified 1020 potentially eligible documents, of which 11 satisfied the established criteria. Non-exhaustive practices prevailed over rigorous investigations, with a high proportion of studies observed to be of low methodological quality and at high risk of bias. This reflected the predominance of uncontrolled interventions. Environmental interventions were focused on reducing risk and adapting the everyday environmental setting, while psychosocial interventions prioritised social strategies (behavioural changes, promotion of participation) and training. Interventions were more effective in certain domains of age-friendly cities and communities such as transportation and housing, followed by increased participation as a lifestyle-related behavioural change. The inferred changes were associated with providing information and enhancing skills; modifying access, barriers, exposures, and opportunities; enhancing services and support; continuity and effectiveness of changes over time; and modifying policies based on the bottom-up approach of age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC). Discussion and conclusion: Interventions focused on personal and organisational aspects might have positive effects in the longer term. However, fewer changes would be observed in interventions revolving around changing lifestyles owing to the impact of complex multi-causal factors. The relative effectiveness in terms of health calls into question the design of interventions and the supposed "friendliness" of certain communities. There is a need to encourage sound longitudinal research aimed at providing key knowledge for the implementation and evaluation of public policies, and to encourage age-friendly community programmes to promote active ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Sánchez-González
- Department of Geography, National Distance Education University (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fermina Rojo-Pérez
- Research Group on Ageing (GIE-CSIC), Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography (IEGD), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 28037 Madrid, Spain; (F.R.-P.); (V.R.-R.); (G.F.-M.)
- Ageing Network of the Latin American Population Association (ALAP), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vicente Rodríguez-Rodríguez
- Research Group on Ageing (GIE-CSIC), Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography (IEGD), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 28037 Madrid, Spain; (F.R.-P.); (V.R.-R.); (G.F.-M.)
- Ageing Network of the Latin American Population Association (ALAP), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gloria Fernández-Mayoralas
- Research Group on Ageing (GIE-CSIC), Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography (IEGD), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 28037 Madrid, Spain; (F.R.-P.); (V.R.-R.); (G.F.-M.)
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Black K, Jester DJ. Examining Older Adults' Perspectives on the Built Environment and Correlates of Healthy Aging in an American Age-Friendly Community. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17197056. [PMID: 32992480 PMCID: PMC7578930 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Population aging has led to an increased focus on the environmental context in which we age. While researchers have identified significant health benefits associated with built community features such as housing, transportation and outdoor spaces and buildings, less attention has focused on the correlates of healthy aging and other characteristics via the perspective of community-dwelling older adults. This study utilized cluster analysis to examine health-related subgroups of older adults (n = 598) in an age-friendly community located in the United States, of which nearly half of its residents are age 60 and older. Linear regression was used to associate the health clusters with perceptions of built environmental features and socio-demographics. Four distinct profiles were identified, with the greatest preference for housing and transportation found among those reporting poorer health compared to those reporting excellent health across multi-dimensional healthy aging measures. Perceptions on the importance of built environmental features were also found to vary by age, income and home accessibility status. Findings suggest that older adults’ perceptions about built environmental features differ across health and home status as well as age and income, underscoring opportunities for public health action to better reach and engage older adults by life-course trajectories in age-friendly communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy Black
- School of Aging Studies, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, Sarasota-Manatee Campus, University of South Florida, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Dylan J. Jester
- School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA;
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
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Siette J, Berry H, Jorgensen M, Brett L, Georgiou A, McClean T, Westbrook J. Social Participation Among Older Adults Receiving Community Care Services. J Appl Gerontol 2020; 40:997-1007. [DOI: 10.1177/0733464820938973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Aged care services have the potential to support social participation for the growing number of adults aging at home, but little is known about the types of social activities older adults in community care are engaged in. We used cluster analysis to examine the current profiles of social participation across seven domains in 1,114 older Australians, and chi-square analyses to explore between-group differences in social participation and sociodemographic and community care service use. Two distinct participation profiles were identified: (a) connected, capable, older rural women and (b) isolated, high-needs, urban-dwelling men. The first group had higher levels of engagement across six social participation domains compared with the second group. Social participation among older adults receiving community care services varies by gender, age, individual care needs, and geographical location. More targeted service provision at both the individual and community levels may assist older adults to access social participation opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joyce Siette
- Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Helen Berry
- Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia
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