Neighborhood Environment in Studies of Health of Older Adults

Abstract

Context Epidemiologists and public health researchers are studying neighborhood’s effect on individual health. The health of older adults may be more influenced by their neighborhoods as a result of decreased mobility. However, research on neighborhood’s influence on older adults’ health, specifically, is limited. Evidence acquisition Recent studies on neighborhood and health for older adults were identified. Studies were identified through searches databases including PsychINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, Academic Search Premier, Ageline, Social Science Citation Index, and Health Source. Criteria for inclusion were: human studies; English language; study sample included adults aged ≥55 years; health outcomes including mental health, health behaviors, morbidity, and mortality; neighborhood as the primary exposure variable of interest; empirical research; and studies that included >=10 neighborhoods. Air pollution studies were excluded. Five hundred thirty-eight relevant articles were published 1997–2007; 33 of these articles met inclusion criteria. Evidence synthesis The measures of objective and perceived aspects of neighborhood were summarized. Neighborhood was primarily operationalized using census-defined boundaries. Measures of neighborhood were principally derived from objective sources of data; eight studies assessed perceived neighborhood alone or in combination with objective measures. Six categories of neighborhood characteristics were socioeconomic composition, racial composition, demographics, perceived resources and/or problems, physical environment, and social environment. The studies are primarily cross-sectional and use administrative data to characterize neighborhood. Conclusions These studies suggest that neighborhood environment is important for older adults’ health and functioning.

Barriers to outdoor physical activity and unmet physical activity need in older adults

“…Studies which have investigated the association between environment and mobility have often examined features of the broader neighborhood, such as traffic, land-use patterns, safety and lightning (Clarke, Ailshire & Lantz 2009, Shumway-Cook et al 2002. In order to gain more knowledge about the factors that affect the everyday mobility of older home-dwelling persons, it is equally important to investigate the facilitators in the close surroundings of the home, where most of the activities of older people take place, including the home entrance (Yen, Michael & Perdue 2009). Information about factors that can alleviate or reduce the importance of walking limitation is also needed.…”

“…A substantial part of research in gerontology is focused on the home or the neighborhood, which is understandable as in old age people spend an increasing amount of their time at home or in its environs (Wahl & Weisman 2003). This highlights the importance of having an accessible environment, as this has been shown to have an effect on older people's health and functioning (Yen, Michael & Perdue 2009). …”

“…In this study it is considered as a correlate of disparities in physical activity and examined together with risks and resources. The neighborhood is often highly important for older people, who often carry out most of their daily activities in the proximity of the home, where also most of their physical activity takes place (Yen, Michael & Perdue 2009). The environment includes the entire life-space of older people -home, its immediate surroundings, neighborhood and town -all the areas in which older people's daily activities take place (Baker, Bodner & Allman 2003).…”

Neighborhood Disorder and Physical Activity among Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study

“…Physical disorder-the deterioration of urban landscapes [8]-may be an important and modifiable barrier to physical activity, particularly walking, among older adults [9][10][11][12]. However, the quantitative evidence base that physical disorder acts as such a barrier is limited.…”

Associations between residential food environment and dietary patterns in urban-dwelling older adults: results from the VoisiNuAge study

“…Qualitative (6,12) and marketing science studies (13,14) show that a diversified food shopping environment, adequate store size, proximity to supermarkets and other food stores, and convenient means of transportation can support healthful dietary self-management. However, compared with studies of children (15) and of general adult populations (16) , few quantitative studies (17,18) of older adults have specifically examined food consumption and its association with the food environment using objective indicators gleaned from a geographic information system (GIS) (19) . In US populations, evidence suggests that density and proximity to supermarkets (20)(21)(22)(23) and perceived or directly measured availability of healthy foods in these stores (23)(24)(25) are associated with dietary intake, but evidence from other industrialized countries is less consistent (26)(27)(28)(29) .…”