Abstract
The World Health Organization has promoted age-friendly city (AFC) projects in response to the aging population. Taiwan has also promoted AFC policies. This study was conducted in Taitung County, where 15.37% of the population is older adults in Taiwan. The aim was to understand the perceptions of older adults and service providers with regard to the current status of AFC policies to influence future policies. The participants of this study were older adults and service providers in various regions of Taitung. Quantitative questionnaires were completed by older adults and qualitative interviews were held with focus groups. The older adults were the most satisfied with the AFC domains of “respect and social inclusion” and “community and health services”, and the least satisfied with “transportation” and “civic participation and employment”. Homogeneity existed between the older adults’ satisfaction levels in different regions and the service providers’ opinions; however, there were notable differences between them. Both economic development and the ethnicity of groups in different regions are influential factors that determine the success of government policies. In promoting AFC policies, local governments should consider their applicability based on local conditions and resources to meet the needs of the aging population in rural areas.
Highlights
Population aging has been observed in countries around the world
This study analyzed the current status of each age-friendly city (AFC) domain in Taitung County through questionnaire surveys and interviews with focus groups and proposed actions for future policies
Some older adults emphasized physical infrastructure and design; some emphasized the improvement of the social environment, including interpersonal relationships and social participation; and some desired changes in the government [1,5]
Summary
Population aging has been observed in countries around the world. Most countries are committed to establish policies to build age-friendly environments for older adults that enable them to exercise their abilities and values and promote their health, well-being, and quality of life. Organization (WHO) believes that establishing and maintaining an age-friendly environment should be the core of urbanization policies with regard to an aging population, which promotes the concept of “aging in place” by pursuing active and healthy aging [1,2,3]. The core value of active aging is promoted, which is to enable older adults to continue to live in their home and their communities to achieve the goal of aging in place [2]
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