Environmental influences on indoor walking behaviours of assisted living residents

Abstract

Regular walking behaviours can improve older people's physical, psychological and social health. This project examined the relationships between assisted living facilities’ design features and residents’ indoor walking behaviours through surveys and field evaluations. Surveys were conducted in 18 assisted living facilities in the US state of Texas. Researchers gathered information from 343 residents about their walking behaviours, participation in other activities, health and demographic status, and perceptions of the environment. Field evaluations were conducted to collect objective physical environment measures. Facility information was provided by the administrators. Multivariate hierarchical regression analysis showed significant influences of physical environments on indoor walking behaviours. Indoor recreational walking was related negatively to the number of stories of the building and positively to the perception of looped corridors. Different types of utilitarian walking, such as ‘walk to other activities’, ‘walk to front entry' and ‘walk to mailbox' were influenced by specific design features. The number of utilitarian walking types was marginally influenced by the number of stories of the building. These findings will help inform the design of activity-friendly assisted living facilities and the creation of health promotion programmes for frail older people.