Associations between Neighborhood Open Space Features and Walking and Social Interaction in Older Adults-A Mixed Methods Study.

Tanja Schmidt,Jasper Schipperijn,Jacqueline Kerr

doi:10.3390/geriatrics4030041

Abstract

Neighborhood Open Spaces (NOS) such as public spaces around people’s homes, parks and village greens, may support activity and socializing for older adults. These spaces might be especially important for older adults as they typically are less mobile and have smaller activity spaces and social networks than other age groups. The present exploratory sequential mixed methods study investigates the association between built environment features, social interaction, and walking within NOS, among older adults living in a low socio-economic neighborhood in Copenhagen. Interviews, the Community Park Audit Tool, and the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) were used to capture quantitative and qualitative data on 353 older adults (59–90 years old) within 11 NOS. Walking was predicted by the condition and shade along paths, seating and landscaping. Social interaction was negatively associated with walking, suggesting that older adults tend to sit down when engaging in social activities. Interviews highlighted the importance of social interaction within NOS. Future designs of NOS should acknowledge the importance of social meeting places, but at the same time provide walkable spaces for older adults to promote healthy aging.

Highlights

Older adults (60+) are a rapidly growing population group in most industrialized countries.They are expected to increase to 22% of the worldwide population by 2050, resulting in more older adults than children [1]
A high percentage of older adults are walking within the Neighborhood Open Spaces (NOS) (72%), which, not surprisingly, matches the relatively low percentage of older adults engaging in social interaction (30%)
The study further adds to the limited knowledge on how to improve NOS in disadvantaged neighborhoods for older adults, to encourage walking in the Danish context which is more densely populated and less car-dependent than in the US

Summary

Introduction

Older adults (60+) are a rapidly growing population group in most industrialized countries. They are expected to increase to 22% of the worldwide population by 2050, resulting in more older adults than children [1]. Some of the most common health issues among older adults are chronic diseases related to obesity, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer [3], as well as depression [4] and anxiety [5]. Regular physical activity (PA), for example walking, has been shown to have numerous health benefits for older adults, such as preventing cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, depression, anxiety, cancer, high cholesterol and blood pressure, obesity, and risk of falls [6,7,8]. Worldwide almost a third of 60–79 year olds and half of 80+ year olds, do not meet the recommended

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