Abstract
Studies on the significance of age-friendly environments towards quality of life among older adults have been limited. This study aimed to examine the association between age-friendly environments and quality of life among Thai older adults. Cross-sectional interview survey data were collected from 4183 older adults (≥60 years) using multistage stratified systematic sampling from all four regions in Thailand. The outcome variable was the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) scale, while independent variables included sociodemographic factors, having a health problem, and neighbourhood age-friendly environment variables. In multivariable logistic regression, significant age-friendly environments predictors of quality of life included walkable neighbourhood, neighbourhood aesthetics, neighbourhood service accessibility, neighbourhood criminal safety, neighbourhood social trust, neighbourhood social support, and neighbourhood social cohesion. The present study confirms the important role of age-friendly neighbourhoods in terms of physical and social environments towards the quality of life of older adults.
Highlights
Global life expectancy is increasing each year
Of the older adults agreed that their neighbourhood had high social cohesion and high social support, but only 55.6% reported high social trust in their neighbourhood
More than one-third (35.8%) of the older adults scored on the WHOQOL-BREF as having a good quality of life
Summary
Global life expectancy is increasing each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that “average life expectancy at birth in 1955 was just 48 years; in 1995 it was 65 years; in 2025 it will reach 73 years” [1]. The longer life expectancy causes a rapid increase in the number of older adults (60 years and older), doubling from 600 million in 2017 to 1.2 billion in 2025 [2]. Due to a longer life expectancy, maintaining a better quality of life is challenging. The WHO indicated that genes and personal characteristics, and physical and social environments can play an important role in determining people’s health and well-being throughout people’s life course [3]. In order to prepare for demographic ageing, the WHO developed guidelines on age-friendly environments, including eight domains: “Areas of urban living: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community support and health services.” [4]
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