Age-friendly neighbourhoods and physical activity of older Surinamese individuals in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Abstract

Background Age-friendly neighbourhoods seem to promote physical activity among older individuals. Physical activity is especially important for chronically ill individuals. In the Netherlands, older Surinamese individuals are more likely to have chronic diseases than are their native Dutch counterparts. This study examined relationships of neighbourhood characteristics with physical activity among older Surinamese individuals in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Methods Of 2749 potential participants, 697 (25%) community-dwelling older (age ≥ 70 years) Surinamese individuals living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, completed a questionnaire on personal and neighbourhood characteristics between March and June 2020. Correlation and multilevel regression analyses were performed to identify associations between missing neighbourhood characteristics for ageing in place and physical activity. Results Scores for the neighbourhood domains communication and information (r = -0.099, p ≤ 0.05), community support and health services (r = -0.139, p ≤ 0.001), and respect and social inclusion (r = -0.141, p ≤ 0.001), correlated negatively with participants’ PA. In the multilevel analysis, overall missing neighbourhood characteristics to age in place scores were associated negatively with physical activity (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion This study showed the importance of age-friendly neighbourhoods for physical activity among older Surinamese individuals in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Our findings suggest that the neighbourhood plays an important role in supporting older individuals’ leading of physically active lifestyles. Further research is needed to support the development of interventions to create age-friendly neighbourhoods.

Health behaviours and well-being among older adults with a Surinamese migration background in the Netherlands

“…Less than half of participants in our study met the PA guidelines of ≥ 5 days per week at least 30 min physically active. A recent study among older Surinamese adults showed that neighbourhood characteristics have an important role in supporting older Surinamese adults in engaging an active lifestyle [ 52 ]. Thus, policy makers should promote neighbourhood interventions that promote/support PA among the older Surinamese population, which might also be beneficial for the general population.…”

Rural age‐friendly ecosystems for older adults: An international scoping review with recommendations to support age‐friendly communities

“…Validated tool for AFS environment assessment 55,73 and community level indicators for AFS develped 53 …”

“…Individual well‐being 53 and social support 38 positively impacted by AFS neighborhood characteristics…”

Older adults' perceptions of physical activity in the urban neighborhood

“…These active behavioral patterns are in uenced by the features that are organized and con gured in the city spaces (Ulijaszek, 2018). The role of the physical environment in the city and neighborhood in supporting or hindering different levels of physical activity of citizens has received a lot of attention in the past few decades (Wali et al, 2022) (Jagroep et al, 2022) (Duncan et al, 2021) (King et al, 2019) (Kärmeniemi et al, 2018) (Barnett et al, 2017) (Cerin et al, 2014) (Handy et al, 2002). According to the ecological model of health behavior, physical activity in older adults is in uenced by their surrounding environment, which, in turn, is determined by personal, interpersonal, and physical environmental factors (Chen et al, 2019).…”

“…According to the ecological model of health behavior, physical activity in older adults is in uenced by their surrounding environment, which, in turn, is determined by personal, interpersonal, and physical environmental factors (Chen et al, 2019). Past research also shows that the neighborhood plays an important role in supporting the physical activity lifestyle of the older adults (Jagroep et al, 2022). An active lifestyle in old age has a great impact on general health (Paillard-Borg et al, 2012) in that it can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, improve the quality of life of the older adults (Chodzko-Zajko, 2014), promote mental health (Teychenne, et al, 2020), function as a protective factor to delay dementia at old age (Paillard-Borg et al, 2012), cause happiness and satisfaction in life (An et al, 2020), and improve sleep quality and reduce depression (Kadariya et al, 2019).…”