Age-friendly Cities Research Articles

Intergenerational connections through technology: Insights from the Technology Use in Later Life multi-site study

With enhanced challenges to maintain social connections especially during times of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for technology solutions grow. Technologies have become interwoven into the daily lives for many older adults. The Technology Use in Later Life (TILL) study investigated how the perceptions and use of technology both can foster new and leverage existing intergenerational relationships. Through a mixed methods study engaging older adults aged 70 years of age and greater across rural and urban sites in Canada and the UK (N=37), participants described how the interconnection between technology and intergenerational relationships was an integral component to social connectedness with others. Through a qualitative descriptive approach, it was noted that older adults leveraged intergenerational relationships with family and friends to adjust to new technologies and to remain connected to adult children and grandchildren especially when there is high geographic separation between them. Especially during times of COVID-19, younger family members can play an important role to introduce and teach older adults how to use, technologies such as digital devices, computers, and social networking sites. Participants emphasized the benefits of intergenerational connections to adopt and use technology in later life noting flexibility and willingness to overcome barriers to technology adoption and remain connected across the generations. The adoption and uptake of technologies may continue as viable options during times of social distancing to support older persons to remain independent, age in place, in both age-friendly cities and across rural geographies during and post COVID-19.

Getting Involved With Policy as a Graduate Student

The third speaker is University of Southern California PhD candidate Haley Gallo. Haley will discuss strategies for connecting research to policy as a graduate student, as well as aging-policy internship opportunities for graduate students, including the GSA’s Greg O’Neill Policy Internship. Haley’s research focuses on policies that promote the goals of the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities initiative. She is passionate about including older adults—particularly those from groups who are traditionally left out—in the development of research and policy that affects people of all ages.

Learning While Doing: Community-Engaged Action Research With Age-Friendly Community Leaders

Age-Friendly Community Initiatives (AFCIs) are expanding throughout the United States to make social and built environments within local communities more responsive to population aging. With over 450 initiatives affiliated with the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Cities, and States (125 of which began in 2019-early 2020), rapid growth on the ground necessitates that theory and research develop alongside practice innovations. This symposium showcases the intersection of cutting-edge scholarship with community-based efforts to generate knowledge of community change processes that is immediately actionable by community leaders. Collectively, these papers emphasize the benefits of action research and developmental evaluation in community gerontology towards building the theories of age-friendly change that will set the stage for outcomes research. The first paper will present on work with 83 AFCIs in rural Maine involving interviews with organizational leaders to inform which types of supports could stimulate age-friendly changes to communities’ built and social environments. The second paper will share a mixed-methods approach used to develop a global toolkit for dementia-friendly communities. The third presenter will describe the collaborative development and utilization of social network analysis to help age-friendly leaders plan their work, while simultaneously advancing research on variation in AFCI implementation. The final paper will present an evaluative framework that identifies roles and outcome measures for collective impact at the intersection of public health and age-friendly communities.

Leading Age-Friendly University Initiatives at a Research Intensive University in Manitoba, Canada

When Dublin City University introduced the Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles in 2012, the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba had been fully immersed in age-friendly cities research, so it was a natural for it to champion the University becoming more age-friendly. As a university-wide research centre, at a research intensive university, the Centre on Aging has built on its strengths to advance the AFU movement. Related to its goals on research, knowledge mobilization, training, and partnerships, it has been able to work with its many Research Affiliates, students and community/university partners to tackle new AFU initiatives. Recent activities have included: an awareness raising workshop/showcase, discussions with Research Affiliates about potential new degree course offerings, an environmental scan of post-secondary inter-generational possibilities, a home-sharing project, workshop development on older learners in the classroom, and provincial community workshops and consultations on communicating about aging and healthy aging. Part of a symposium sponsored by Directors of Aging Centers Interest Group.

The Effect of Neighborhood Experiences on Positive Mental Health Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Given reduced life spaces, the neighborhood often functions as a social venue for older adults. Yet how these everyday social spaces affect older adults’ psychosocial wellbeing remains largely unknown. Drawing on the GRP-CARE Survey data, this paper examined the relation between neighborhood experiences and positive mental health. Participants were 601 community-dwelling Singaporeans aged 50+ who lived in public housing neighborhoods. Neighborhood experiences were measured using the four-factorial, 16-item OpenX scale (Gan, Fung, Cho, 2019); positive mental health was measured using a six-factorial, 19-item scale (Vaingankar et al., 2011). Both scales have good psychometric properties and had been validated. Path analysis between relevant factors of both scales was conducted using Stata, within a theorized model of causation from neighborhood environment to social factors to psychosocial health. Age, education, ethnicity and sex were controlled for. Multiple linear regression analysis showed a strong, positive association between neighborhood experiences and mental health (p=0.000) even after controlling for personal traits (operationalized as depressive symptoms, GDS) in addition to sociodemographic variables. Path analysis showed that two distinct neighborhood health processes mediated this association. These were (1) the potential for a sense of community in the neighborhood improved emotional support, and (2) having better neighborly friendships improved interpersonal skills. These neighborhood health processes provide us with new lenses to understand older adults’ everyday experiences of their neighborhoods. Community-based interventions to improve older adults’ psychosocial wellbeing may be developed to facilitate these processes. Spatial and programmatic implications will be discussed in relation to age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC).

Distinctions on the Importance of Age-Friendly Services by Old Age Groups: A Comparative Study Between the USA and the EU

Based on the initiative of the World Health Organization in 2007, when describing the global age-friendly cities by a guide to enhance active aging and the age-friendliness of communities, Black and Hyer (2019) presented generational distinctions on the importance of age-friendly community features by focusing efforts on the built, social, and service environment in USA. Their study aimed to examine the differential salience of community features by older generational age groups including Baby Boomers and younger persons 50 years and older, and older cohorts, born before and during WWII. They found that the Chi-square results indicate significant differences across the generational age groups in all domains. We wanted to compare the preference of the same age cohorts in Europe. The sizes of samples were half of the size of samples considered by Black and Hyer, therefore we used z+4 tests which also have shown the distinctions pertaining to preferences on housing and participation in social activities. The differences between ranking in importance of Age-Friendly Community Features by Older Age cohorts in USA and EU are presented and discussed.

Creating a Sense of Place after Homelessness: We Are Not “Ready for the Shelf”

Increasingly, older adults’ perspectives are informing aging in place and Age-Friendly Cities (AFC) research, policy, and practices. However, rarely are the voices of older people who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness included. Guided by the concepts of place and home, this qualitative study used semi-structured go-along interviews and thematic analysis to explore how seven older adults (aged 50+) with homeless histories created a sense of place, and the facilitators and barriers they encountered in their place-making process after being housed. The analysis revealed two main themes: home as safety; and sense of place as purpose. Although most expressed gratitude for the safety their housing provided, it was not enough to feel in place. Sense of place was created through engaging in meaningful activities that provided them with a sense of purpose. Sense of place as purpose was facilitated by three subthemes (self-determination, employment/education, and technology), and three barriers (discrimination, transportation, and income). Recommendations are provided which can inform the development of more inclusive housing design and programming, and foster AFC for all older adults, including people with homeless histories.

Viewpoints of Older People Toward the Features of Age-Friendly Communities: Map for Charting Progress in Tabriz, Iran

The number of older people living in urban environments is growing dramatically. Adhering to a set of standards is essential to achieve a desirable living setting. In order to assess strengths and deficiencies, older people described how the checklist of essential features of age-friendly cities matches their own experiences. The descriptive study was conducted with the participation of 384 older people from Tabriz, Iran, who were selected randomly, from all over the city. The degree of conformity of city characteristics was described with the standards with a score of 0–100. The mean age of participants was 68.2 ± 0.35 years. More than half of the respondents (56.5%) were men and approximately one-third of the participants were illiterate and 80% were married respectively. The most satisfying dimension was the outdoor spaces and buildings (32.06 ± 11.94) and the least one was the communication and information (9 ± 0.27). Fragmented systems and services were a general challenge. Inadequate coordination between the public service organizations and consumers prevented the area’s wealth of resources from reaching their full potential.

How is Respect and Social Inclusion Conceptualised by Older Adults in an Aspiring Age-Friendly City? A Photovoice Study in the North-West of England.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Age-Friendly Cities (AFC) Guide classifies key characteristics of an AFC according to eight domains. Whilst much age-friendly practice and research have focused on domains of the physical environment, those related to the social environment have received less attention. Using a Photovoice methodology within a Community-Based Participatory Research approach, our study draws on photographs, interviews and focus groups among 26 older Liverpool residents (60+ years) to explore how the city promotes respect and social inclusion (a core WHO AFC domain). Being involved in this photovoice study allowed older adults across four contrasting neighbourhoods to communicate their perspectives directly to Liverpool’s policymakers, service providers and third sector organisations. This paper provides novel insights into how: (i) respect and social inclusion are shaped by aspects of both physical and social environment, and (ii) the accessibility, affordability and sociability of physical spaces and wider social processes (e.g., neighbourhood fragmentation) contributed to or hindered participants’ health, wellbeing, intergenerational relationships and feelings of inclusion and connection. Our findings suggest that respect and social inclusion are relevant across all eight domains of the WHO AFC Guide. It is core to an AFC and should be reflected in both city-based policies and evaluations.

Engaging Older People in Age-Friendly Cities through Participatory Video Design.

Participatory video design is a novel approach to collect experiences and perceptions of older people about the age-friendliness of their city or neighborhood. In this article, we describe how this co-creative method can add to specific knowledge about the preferences and needs of older people about the improvement or preservation of their environment. We describe two examples of this approach in the cities of The Hague and Leiden, the Netherlands. Persons of 60 years and older were invited to participate in a “workshop” on filmmaking focusing on age-friendly cities. A professional filmmaker and a researcher of the University of Applied Sciences worked in co-creation with older people, to produce short films on the topics that were perceived as important from the perspective of the participants. The older people worked in couples to produce their short films about the city or their neighborhood. Topics of the films included communication and information, outdoor spaces, social relations, and community support. The use of participatory video design can foster empowerment and social interaction among older participants, and insight into the preferences and needs of older people regarding age-friendly cities.

Smart and Age-Friendly Cities in Russia: An Exploratory Study of Attitudes, Perceptions, Quality of Life and Health Information Needs

In Russia, initiatives for healthy ageing have been growing over the last two decades; however, none use an evidence-based (EB) approach. It is proposed that Kazan, a city with a population of over a million in the European part of Russia, has good chances of moving towards age-friendliness and contributing to raising awareness about healthy ageing through Cochrane evidence. One of the eight essential features of age-friendly cities by the World Health Organisation (WHO) directly points to health services. This exploratory study assesses the health information needs of the ageing population of Kazan and the challenges people face in improving their health and longevity. Survey data were used from 134 participants, patients, caregivers and healthcare providers of the Interregional Clinical Diagnostic Centre (ICDC), aged from 30 to over 80 years, and potential associations of the studied parameters with age, gender, quality of life and other characteristics were analysed. Older people (60+) were less positive about their quality of life, took medicines more often on a daily basis (10/16 compared to 29/117 of people under 60), encountered problems with ageing (9/16 compared to 21/117 of people under 60) and rated their quality of life as unsatisfactory (4/14 compared to 9/107 of people under 60). Awareness of EB approaches and Cochrane was higher within health professions (evidence-based medicine: 42/86 vs. 13/48; Cochrane: 32/86 vs. 2/48), and health information needs did not differ between age or gender groups or people with a satisfactory and unsatisfactory quality of life. The minority (10%—13/134) were aware of ageism without age or gender differences. The low awareness calls for the need of Cochrane intervention both for consumers and those in the health profession to raise awareness to contribute to Kazan moving towards an age-friendly city.

Prisons, Older People, and Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: Towards an Inclusive Approach.

This original and ground-breaking interdisciplinary article brings together perspectives from gerontology, criminology, penology, and social policy to explore critically the nature and consequences of the lack of visibility of prisons, prisoners, and ex-prisoners within global research, policy and practice on age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC), at a time when increasing numbers of people are ageing in prison settings in many countries. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges in the contexts both of older peoples’ lives, wellbeing, and health, and also within prison settings, and thus it is timely to reflect on the links between older people, prisons, and cities, at a time of ongoing change. Just as there is an extensive body of ongoing research exploring age-friendly cities and communities, there is extensive published research on older people’s experiences of imprisonment, and a growing body of research on ageing in the prison setting. However, these two research and policy fields have evolved largely independently and separately, leading to a lack of visibility of prisons and prisoners within AFCC research and policy and, similarly, the omission of consideration of the relevance of AFCC research and policy to older prisoners and ex-prisoners. Existing checklists and tools for assessing and measuring the age-friendliness of cities and communities may be of limited relevance in the context of prisons and prisoners. This article identifies the potential for integration and for cross-disciplinary research in this context, concluding with recommendations for developing inclusive research, policies, and evaluation frameworks which recognise and include prisons and older prisoners, both during and after incarceration.

Age-Friendly Cities During a Global Pandemic.

Age-friendly cities optimize opportunities for health, participation, and security to enhance quality of life as people age. The Age-Friendly Cities framework evaluates eight evidence-based domains, including: 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. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted each of these domains, necessitating reconsideration of opportunities to promote safety, wellness, and empowerment for older adults and persons with disabilities in this new reality. This qualitative descriptive study provides perspectives of gerontologists, senior service providers, and diverse older adults. Participants identified emerging issues and concerns related to the eight age-friendly domains, as well as highlighted best practices and potential solutions. The findings provide direction for gerontological nurses in practice and research who aim to address social determinants of health while promoting aging in place for older adults. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(12), 7-13.].

Digitalising the Age-Friendly City: Insights from Participatory Action Research.

The World Health Organization’s age-friendly city initiative emerged as a response to the intersecting global trends of population ageing and urbanisation. However, a third global trend—digitalisation—has largely been overlooked in research and policy making relating to age-friendly cities and communities. Within the context of a general shift towards online civic participatory activities, this article explores older adults’ digital citizenship in an age-friendly city in the North of England. Drawing on interviews, observations and field notes from design workshops as part of an ongoing participatory action research project, we consider two key questions. First, how does an age-friendly city stakeholder organisation of older adults make use of digital technologies in order to provide digital information and communications? Second, what is the potential of digital audio to increase civic participation in later life and local engagement with age-friendly issues? Our analysis focuses on two domains of the World Health Organization’s age-friendly city framework: Communication and information and civic participation. First, we report on the stakeholder organisation’s efforts to re-design their digital newsletter in order to provide information and communications to older residents about local work on ageing projects. We then outline the organisation’s efforts, in a public setting, to engage with digital audio as a way to increase the participation of older residents with age-friendly topics. We conclude by suggesting the need to re-frame the role of digital technologies within the age-friendly city, broadening the scope from accessibility towards enhancing digital citizenship opportunities.

Environmental and Psychosocial Interventions in Age-Friendly Communities and Active Ageing: A Systematic Review.

Background: The academic literature contains little information regarding the interventions that create age-friendly cities and communities in order to promote active ageing. Objectives: A systematic review was carried out to determine the available empirical evidence in relation to the characteristics, content and effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving environmental and psychosocial risk factors for older people, from the perspective of age-friendly communities and the promotion of active ageing. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the studies retained in this review were identified through a systematic search of the academic literature in selected electronic databases including Web of Science and Scopus. Independent critical appraisal and data extraction were conducted by two reviewers. The checklist was used to assess the quality of the articles. Findings: The search identified 1020 potentially eligible documents, of which 11 satisfied the established criteria. Non-exhaustive practices prevailed over rigorous investigations, with a high proportion of studies observed to be of low methodological quality and at high risk of bias. This reflected the predominance of uncontrolled interventions. Environmental interventions were focused on reducing risk and adapting the everyday environmental setting, while psychosocial interventions prioritised social strategies (behavioural changes, promotion of participation) and training. Interventions were more effective in certain domains of age-friendly cities and communities such as transportation and housing, followed by increased participation as a lifestyle-related behavioural change. The inferred changes were associated with providing information and enhancing skills; modifying access, barriers, exposures, and opportunities; enhancing services and support; continuity and effectiveness of changes over time; and modifying policies based on the bottom-up approach of age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC). Discussion and conclusion: Interventions focused on personal and organisational aspects might have positive effects in the longer term. However, fewer changes would be observed in interventions revolving around changing lifestyles owing to the impact of complex multi-causal factors. The relative effectiveness in terms of health calls into question the design of interventions and the supposed “friendliness” of certain communities. There is a need to encourage sound longitudinal research aimed at providing key knowledge for the implementation and evaluation of public policies, and to encourage age-friendly community programmes to promote active ageing.

Thermal Personalities of Older People in South Australia: A Personas-Based Approach to Develop Thermal Comfort Guidelines.

An important consideration for future age-friendly cities is that older people are able to live in housing appropriate for their needs. While thermal comfort in the home is vital for the health and well-being of older people, there are currently few guidelines about how to achieve this. This study is part of a research project that aims to improve the thermal environment of housing for older Australians by investigating the thermal comfort of older people living independently in South Australia and developing thermal comfort guidelines for people ageing-in-place. This paper describes the approach fundamental for developing the guidelines, using data from the study participants’ and the concept of personas to develop a number of discrete “thermal personalities”. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was implemented to analyse the features of research participants, resulting in six distinct clusters. Quantitative and qualitative data from earlier stages of the project were then used to develop the thermal personalities of each cluster. The thermal personalities represent different approaches to achieving thermal comfort, taking into account a wide range of factors including personal characteristics, ideas, beliefs and knowledge, house type, and location. Basing the guidelines on thermal personalities highlights the heterogeneity of older people and the context-dependent nature of thermal comfort in the home and will make the guidelines more user-friendly and useful.

How does a (Smart) Age-Friendly Ecosystem Look in a Post-Pandemic Society?

COVID-19 has impacted not only the health of citizens, but also the various factors that make up our society, living environments, and ecosystems. This pandemic has shown that future living will need to be agile and flexible to adapt to the various changes in needs of societal populations. Digital technology has played an integral role during COVID-19, assisting various sectors of the community, and demonstrating that smart cities can provide opportunities to respond to many future societal challenges. In the decades ahead, the rise in aging populations will be one of these challenges, and one in which the needs and requirements between demographic cohorts will vary greatly. Although we need to create future smart age-friendly ecosystems to meet these needs, technology still does not feature in the WHO eight domains of an age-friendly city. This paper extends upon Marston and van Hoof’s ‘Smart Age-friendly Ecosystem’ (SAfE) framework, and explores how digital technology, design hacking, and research approaches can be used to understand a smart age-friendly ecosystem in a post-pandemic society. By exploring a series of case studies and using real-life scenarios from the standpoint of COVID-19, we propose the ‘Concept of Age-friendly Smart Ecologies (CASE)’ framework. We provide an insight into a myriad of contemporary multi-disciplinary research, which are capable to initiate discussions and bring various actors together with a positive impact on future planning and development of age-friendly ecosystems. The strengths and limitations of this framework are outlined, with advantages evident in the opportunity for towns, regions/counties, provinces, and states to take an agile approach and work together in adopting and implement improvements for the greater benefits of residents and citizens.

Age-Friendly Communities: Creating a conducive environment for the elderly in India

India is one of the nations in the world where the population is undergoing anomalous demographic changes. The increase in longevity and decrease fertility lead to the boom of older people aged 60 and above both in relative and absolute terms. Due to the rise in number, it creates pressure not only on the family but the responsibility shifts to the government also. This issue becomes a significant social problem not only in India but across the globe. The government had taken action by creating policies and programs to provide services to them. Still, the majority of the elderly population is lacking behind in these areas like health facilities, infrastructure, living arrangements suffering from isolation, loneliness, abuse, crime. Nowadays, smart city initiatives are taken by the government across the country but still in process. To involve and facilitate more cities for “age-friendly”, the World Health Organization develop the Global Age-Friendly Cities Guide and a manual “Checklist of Essential Features of Age-Friendly Cities”. Cooperating with 35 urban communities from developed and developing nations, the WHO oversees eight highlights for age-accommodating urban areas in the space of urban life. This paper had an objective to study and understand exiting literature on age-friendly communities in developed and developing countries and draw attention to the need to create age-friendly cities in India. The realization of the needs and demands of older people, the Indian government should give attention to promote and implement more age-friendly communities all over the country. This initiative till now taken in 3 states, i.e., Delhi, Udaipur, and Kolkata-which involved in age-friendly community initiatives collaborated with WHO. In this era of a rapid aging sphere, the communities have to enhance in such a manner where the older population can meet their needs quickly without any conflicts and problem. To conclude, the government and policymaker should emphasize the policies into practices to build age-friendly communities across the country and make better living conditions for “allages”. For timely action and productive recommendation, it is an urgent need on the part of the government, policymakers, researchers, social workers to develop and enhance the community’s facilities, which can gain confidence and wellbeing of the elderly in India.

Factors Affecting Trends in Societal Indicators of Ageing Well in Hong Kong: Policies, Politics and Pandemics.

ObjectivesTo document the trend in a quality of life indicator for the older Hong Kong population as an assessment of the impact of age friendly city policies, political conflicts and the covid-19 pandemic.DesignRandom telephone survey and collection of government data over four years (2017–2020).SettingCommunity living older people.ParticipantsPeople aged 50 years and over.MeasurementsThe Hong Kong Quality of Life Index covering four domains of in income security, health status, capability and enabling environment.ResultsFrom 2017–9, improvements were seen in various domains in parallel with the adoption of the World Health Organization’s Age Friendly City concept by government policy together with a territory wide initiative supported by a major philanthropic organization. However scores of all domains dropped markedly as a result of political conflicts as well as the onset of the pandemic.ConclusionThe documentation of the trend in HKEQOL shows that while it may be used as a macro indicator that is able to reflect policies affecting the well-being of older people, it is also able to reflect the impact of societal unrest and pandemics, and that the latter may override the effect of existing ageing policies. It also follows that during social unrest and pandemics, specific policies targeting older people may be needed to maintain well-being.

The Role of Mobility Digital Ecosystems for Age-Friendly Urban Public Transport: A Narrative Literature Review.

Within the context of the intersection of the global megatrends of urbanisation, ageing societies and digitalisation, this paper explores older people’s mobility, with a particular interest in public transport, and a strong consideration of digital/ICT elements. With a focus on (smart) mobility, the paper aims to conceptualise transport, one of the main domains of age-friendly cities as a core element of a smart, age-friendly ecosystem. It also aims to propose a justice-informed perspective for the study of age-friendly smart mobility; to contribute towards a framework for the evaluation of age-friendly smart transport as a core element of the global age-friendly cities programme that comprises mobility practices, digital data, digital networks, material/physical geographies and digital devices and access; and to introduce the term “mobility digital ecosystem” to describe this framework. The paper uses the method of a narrative literature review to weave together a selected range of perspectives from communications, transport, and mobility studies in order to introduce the embeddedness of both communication technology use and mobility practices into their material conditions. Combining insights from communications, mobility and transport and social gerontology with a justice perspective on ICT access and mobility, the paper then develops a framework to study age-friendly smart mobility. What we call a “mobility digital ecosystem” framework comprises five elements—mobility practices, digital data, digital networks, material geographies, digital devices and access to services. The paper contributes a justice-informed perspective that points towards a conceptualisation of age-friendly smart mobility as a core element of the age-friendly cities and communities in the WHO’s global age-friendly cities programme.