Abstract
To study associations between perceived neighborhood resources and time spent by older adults in active travel. Respondents in six European countries, aged 65-85 years, reported on the perceived presence of neighborhood resources (parks, places to sit, public transportation, and facilities) with response options "a lot," "some," and "not at all." Daily active travel time (total minutes of transport-related walking and cycling) was self-reported at the baseline (n = 2,695) and 12-18 months later (n = 2,189). Reporting a lot of any of the separate resources (range B's = 0.19-0.29) and some or a lot for all four resources (B = 0.22, 95% confidence interval[0.09, 0.35]) was associated with longer active travel time than reporting none or fewer resources. Associations remained over the follow-up, but the changes in travel time were similar, regardless of the neighborhood resources. Perceiving multiple neighborhood resources may support older adults' active travel. Potential interventions, for example, the provision of new resources or increasing awareness of existing resources, require further study.
Highlights
It is established that even low-intensity activities, such as travel-related walking and cycling, contribute to maintaining health and functioning in old age (Varma et al, 2014)
Participants not included in the cross-sectional analyses were older, more often lived alone and in other than urban areas, and reported fewer resources in their neighborhood than those included in the analyses
Cross-sectional analyses For participants included in the baseline analyses, the perceived presence of public facilities, parks and walking areas, places to sit and rest, and public transportation was generally reported more frequently in the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden and most limited in Italy (Appendix 1)
Summary
It is established that even low-intensity activities, such as travel-related walking and cycling, contribute to maintaining health and functioning in old age (Varma et al, 2014). Living in proximity to destinations such as parks and public facilities (e.g. supermarkets, post offices, and community centers) is associated with higher levels of physical activity and active travel of older adults according to two recent systematic reviews (Barnett et al, 2017; Cerin et al, 2017). Other neighborhood attributes, such as public transportation and places to sit and rest may support older adults’ mobility by making it easier to cover longer distances. There is some evidence that reporting multiple types of resources in the neighborhood may provide additional benefit over reporting one only (McCormack, Giles-Corti, & Bulsara, 2008; Van Cauwenberg et al, 2013)
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