Age–Friendly Cities Features From the Elderly’s Perspectives Underscoring “Community Support and Health Services”

Abstract

Background: The 21 st century is characterized by two challenges; 1) Urbanized population, 2) Ageing population. In this regard, the Iranian old population ages over 60 years is expected to grow rapidly. Improving the elderly's quality of life is one of the challenges for policymakers and achieving this goal is accessible by designing accurate plans. In this way, WHO has initiated a global project to define "age-friendly cities." This study aims to evaluate the criteria of agefriendly cities from the elderly's perspectives. Methods: This cross-sectional study employed interview technique on 400 older adults selected by stratified sampling method. The samples attended four community health centers. Demographic information of participants was collected and the abbreviated mental test, along with age-friendly cities checklist were administered, too. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 20 (P<0.05). Results: In this study, 53% of participants were female and 47% were male. The majority of participants (56.8%) were in the age range of 60-70 years. Most participants (59.8%) passed elementary and high school. The mean score of "community support and health services," from participants' perspectives was 26.82, which was lower than the mean score of the tool (42). The variables of "housekeeping" and the average of "outdoor spending time" (1-3 h) had the highest relationship with the elderly's perspectives on "community support and treatment-health services." Conclusion: Based on the results, welfare-cultural planning according to the older adults' perspectives and a creative collaboration among health policymakers and other organizations involved in ageing issues must be emphasized to empower the criteria of age-friendly cities.

The age–friendly cities characteristics from the viewpoint of elderly

“…According to the results, the mean and standard deviation of scores in the outdoor spaces and buildings indicator was 31.58 ± 2.504. based on the elderly's point of view, the highest and lowest scores, was given to the “Pavements are well-maintained, smooth, level, non-slip, and wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs with low curbs that taper off to the road “and” Pedestrian crossing lights allow sufficient time for elderly people to cross the road and have audio signals, respectively [ Table 1 ]. [ 15 16 ]…”

Creating Successful Elder-Friendly Spaces: A Conceptual Framework for Urban Public Spaces

“…Providing spaces for socialization, community resorts, places to chat, and places to accompany elders are considered as the essential factors for the elderly people. Large resorts in urban spaces too had appeared in previous literature as a significant feature [14]. Moreover, taking note of old and nostalgic elements in such spaces help them have a deeper sense of belonging.…”

“…Iran is experiencing a rapid momentum in population aging. This population constituted (≥65) made 20% of the total population in 2016, and the statistical predictions refer to a 25% growth by 2025 (14). To conduct the semi-structured interviews, participants are selected with respect to the maximum variation of age, literacy, gender, and self-rated health.…”

“…According to the reports by Tehran Municipality in 2015, although Iran has joined the group of 33 countries who are involved in actualizing age-friendly cities, the infrastructure is not appropriate in its context (13,14). The crowded streets with heavy traffic prevent elders' easy and safe commute.…”

Older Adults' Perceptions of Age-friendliness with an Emphasis on Community Supports and Health Services in a City in South Korea

“…Despite the importance of such services, most of the research and practice in South Korea has emphasized various aspects of urbanization and the physical space of the buildings [3]. While some international studies have addressed age-friendly city features from the perspective of older adults, which underscores CSHS [9,10], no research has been conducted with a focus on CSHS in South Korea. Moreover, although a few domestic studies have been conducted which have reported older adults' perceptions of the age-friendliness of cities [7,11], they did not specifically concentrate on older adults' perceptions of CSHS.…”