Development Of Age-friendly Communities Research Articles

Rural age-friendly ecosystems for older adults: An international scoping review with recommendations to support age-friendly communities.

The population of older adults in rural areas is rising, and they experience higher rates of poverty and chronic illness, have poorer health behaviors, and experience different challenges than those in urban areas. This scoping review seeks to (1) map the state of the science of age-friendly systems in rural areas regarding structural characteristics, processes for delivering age-friendly practices, and outcomes of age-friendly systems, (2) analyze strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of age-friendly system implementation, and (3) make person, practice, and policy-level recommendations to support active aging and development of age-friendly communities. An international scoping review was conducted of articles that used age-friendly framing, had a sample age of 45 years of age or older, self-identified as rural, and reported empiric data. Searches were conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, AgeLine, PsychINFO, EMBASE, Scopus, and Academic Search Elite on October 26, 2021, and rerun March 10, 2023. Data were charted across three analytic layers: socioecological model, Donabedian's framework, and SWOT analysis. Results reveal limited data on outcomes relevant to organizations, such as return on investment or healthcare utilization. While the SWOT analysis revealed many strengths of age-friendly systems, including their impact on persons' outcomes, it also revealed several weaknesses, threats, and gaps. Namely, age-friendly systems have weaknesses due to reliance on trained volunteers and staff, communication, and teamwork. System-level threats include community and health system barriers, and challenges in poor/developing areas. While age-friendly systems in this review were heterogeneous, there is an opportunity to focus on unifying elements including the World Health Organization age-friendly cities framework or 4Ms framework for age-friendly care. Despite the many benefits of age-friendly systems, we must acknowledge limitations of the evidence base, pursue opportunities to examine organizational metrics to support implementation and sustainability of age-friendly systems, and leverage improvements in age-friendliness at a community level.

Assessment of Environmental Demands of Age-Friendly Communities from Perspectives of Different Residential Groups: A Case of Wuhan, China.

Age-friendly communities (AFCs) are an important measure for fostering active aging. The key to achieving an age-friendly living environment is to construct or renovate it according to the residents’ demands. To date, very few studies have attempted to delve into the AFCs’ environmental demand from different groups’ perspectives. Based on the theory of place attachment, the aim of this paper is to explore the demand diversity of different groups for the AFC environment. This study employs the nonparametric test and the Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA) to investigate the demands from the residents’ perspectives, and is enhanced by incorporating experts’ opinions. The empirical analysis shows that residents have a high level of demand for the physical environment (indoor and outdoor) and social environment (community services and social participation). At the same time, experts advocate the importance of using digital technologies to support people aged 45–65 who have higher requirements for a community environment than older adults. The findings also show that other backgrounds, such as gender, living arrangements, and year of the community establishment, lead to different demands. However, the impact of residents’ education level, occupation, income, and self-care ability on the environmental demands is low. Based on the research findings, the paper provides some practical suggestions for the future design and development of AFCs.

Successful Aging

The number of older adults in our society is increasing rapidly. Aging is complex and may occur at varying rates across multiple domains, including biological aging, cognitive aging, and emotional aging. Age-related medical conditions are now among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among older adults, making healthy aging a major public health priority. Successful aging encompasses more than longevity, medical health, or freedom from disability. It can be viewed as a multidimensional construct including minimization of disability and medical illness combined with maximization of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning. We review the current literature regarding successful aging. We also discuss strategies to improve the likelihood of successful aging and several key advances, such as definitions of successful aging in different populations, neuroplasticity of aging, wisdom as an empirical construct, the concept of a good (or successful) death, and the development of age-friendly communities. This review contains 3 figures, 5 tables, and 53 references. Key words: aging, elderly, older adult, successful aging, successful aging interventions

Social exclusion and health outcomes among empty nest and non-empty nest older people in China

AbstractMany existing studies lack a comprehensive picture of the social exclusion statuses and health outcomes of empty nesters and those empty nesters living alone or with a spouse only. Cross-sectional analysis was conducted on representative national data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, focusing on respondents aged 60 and above (N = 7,923). Four dimensions of social exclusion (social relationships, subjective feeling of being excluded, social activities and financial products) and three health outcomes (self-reported health (SRH), activities of daily living (ADLs) and depression), were considered. Results show that ‘empty nest’ older people were more likely to be excluded from social relationships and to experience subjective feelings of being excluded, and were less likely to participate in social activities than non-empty nesters. Empty nesters were significantly less likely to report fair SRH and ADL difficulties than non-empty nesters, but they were more likely to report having depression than non-empty nesters. Among ‘empty nest’ older people, empty nesters who were living alone were associated with higher levels of being excluded from social relationships and to experience subjective feelings of being excluded than those who were living with a spouse only. Future research could focus on the development of age-friendly communities which act as health interventions to address relevant situations of social exclusion and depression among empty nesters.

Structural model for the relationships between age-friendly communities and quality of life of older adults in Hefei, China

PurposeChina is experiencing tremendous changes of rapid urbanization and aging society. The development of age-friendly communities (AFCs) has been encouraged for improving health and well-being of older adults. Hence, this study aimed to deepen the understanding of AFCs in China and to investigate the integrated relationships between AFCs and the quality of life (QoL) of older adults, using a large-scale questionnaire survey.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted in Hefei, China, to investigate the complicated relationships between the components of AFCs and the QoL of older adults. Ultimately, 1,383 valid questionnaires were collected from senior respondents aged more than 60 years. Several statistical methods, including reliability analysis, correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM), were adopted to develop an integrated model for AFC components and the QoL of older adults.FindingsSix AFC components and four older adults' QoL factors were identified. The SEM results revealed integrated relationships between specific AFC components and the QoL of older adults: (1) physical QoL was affected by outdoor spaces, public transportation, housing and community and health services; (2) psychological QoL was predicted by most of the AFC components except community and health services; and (3) environmental QoL and social QoL were both influenced by outdoor spaces, communication and information and community and health services.Practical implicationsIn order to enhance the QoL of older adults, it is suggested that outdoor spaces need to be enlarged by fully using the facilities and playgrounds of middle schools and renovating the older buildings. The locations of public transportation stations are recommended to be revised to be within a 5-minute walking distance of senior residents. Improvements to the social environment of AFCs, by increasing the coverage of medical services and creating multiple approaches to recreational activities, are encouraged.Originality/valueThese findings have empirical significance for urban planners and policy-makers in regard to identifying major components of AFCs and understanding the effect of those components on the QoL of older adults.

Grow Old along with me: the Meaning of Dogs in Seniors\u2019 Lives

This is a phenomenological study intended to more fully understand the meaning and significance older adults attach to their relationship with their dogs. What do those relationships look like? How do they help to define seniors’ lives? What is it about those relationships that communities need to pay attention to in order to foster positive ageing? Participants were ten women and four men, ranging in age from 60 to 99 years, and their dogs, ranging in age from four to 16 plus years, in four communities in Nova Scotia, Canada. Information was gathered over a period of a year through indepth conversations, observations, and photographs in order to capture the nature and meaning of the dog-human relationships. While each participating pair had a unique and nuanced relationship, four predominant themes cut across all of the participants’ relationships with their dogs. These themes depict the meaning the participants attach to their dogs and point to the psycho-spiritual nature of those relationships. The themes of beloved attachment, unconditional love, steadfast friendship, and joyful responsibility are presented using photographs and participants’ words. The research evidences the role of dogs in the well-being and quality of life of older adults and identifies the support of those relationships as a community and societal responsibility. The goal of creating conditions to ensure that older adults are able to maintain a high standard of health and well-being must include strategies that recognize and support the significance of dog-senior relationships; that is, the development of age-friendly communities as petfriendly communities.

Making Homes More Dementia-Friendly through the Use of Aids and Adaptations.

The majority of people with dementia live in their own homes, often supported by a family member. While this is the preferred option for most, they often face multiple challenges due to a deterioration in their physical and cognitive abilities. This paper reports on a pilot study that aimed to explore the impacts of aids and adaptations on the wellbeing of people with dementia and their families living at home. Quantitative data were collected using established measures of wellbeing at baseline, 3 months and 9 months. In-depth case studies were carried out with a sample of participants. Findings from the pilot suggest that relatively inexpensive aids can contribute towards the maintenance of wellbeing for people with dementia in domestic settings. The project also increased the skills and confidence of professionals involved in the project and strengthened partnerships between the collaborating organisations across health, housing and social care. Providing aids that can help people with dementia to remain living at home with a good quality of life, often with the support of a family member, is an important element in the development of age-friendly communities.

Older Adults’ Experiences of Community Mobility in an Indian Metropolis: A Qualitative Study

Aims: This study aimed to explore and understand how older adults experience community mobility within an urban Indian context, using a phenomenological approach. Methods: Ten older adults residing in Chennai city participated in this study. The investigator conducted individual, in-depth interviews of 60–75 minutes each. Results: Participants placed high value on community mobility, which contributed to their occupational participation and well-being. Participants identified numerous physical, social and attitudinal barriers to community mobility in their environment, leading to fear and restrictions in community mobility. Conclusion: The study findings underscore the need for the development of age-friendly communities within Indian society to promote occupational justice for older adults. Occupational therapists in India can intervene at the government, community, family and individual levels to enable older adults’ community mobility and occupational participation. Future research to investigate context-specific interventions to facilitate older adults’ community mobility is recommended.