No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Natural neighborhood networks — Important social networks in the lives of older adults aging in place
Abstract
Neighborhoods are important places of aging and meaningful contexts of life for many older people. The overall aim of this study was to explore the public life of older people aging in place in order to understand neighborhoods as the material places where public life occurs, networks as the social places of public life, and to examine how these neighborhoods and networks influence the experience of aging and wellbeing. Adopting a friendly visiting methodology, data was collected over an 8-month period using participant observation, visual methods and an innovative interview technique called the “go along method”. Data were analyzed using grounded theory and a coding strategy that integrated textual, visual, and auditory data. Results provide insights into the micro-territorial functioning of neighborhoods and highlight third places and transitory zones as significant sites for older residents. Embedded within these places is a natural neighborhood network — a web of informal relationships and interactions that enhance well being and shape the everyday social world of older adults aging in place.
... Third places are where older adults build social connections and how the neighborhood social fabric is sustained over time. Other important social spaces are 'transition zones', which are not destinations in the neighborhood, but places older adults pass through during the course of their daily public life, such as sidewalks, bus stops, and lineups at the grocery store (Gardner, 2011(Gardner, , 2014. These zones are used to connect with people, even as briefly as a wave to a neighbor on the way to the store, and become an integral component of older adults' social experience. ...
... Gallagher (2012) noted that older adults cocreated satisfying relationships and engagement in a range of social and communal settings, such as sports and social clubs, churches, voluntary groups, and community events. In addition, older adults who are out and about in their neighborhoods and engage in social interactions can lead to creating a 'natural neighborhood network', a web of informal place-relationships and interactions with neighbors, business staff members, and strangers (Gardner, 2011). Further, through daily interactions and routine activities in the neighborhood, older adults may gain a sense of familiarity, supporting feelings of safety and security (Makita et al., 2020), and gain a sense of community as they in turn contribute to that sense of community (Kantartzis & Molineux, 2017). ...
... Using a perspective of environment-based agency (Wahl et al., 2012), these authors showed how older adults contributed to their neighborhoods in three main ways. First, similar to Gardner's (2011) findings, older adult participants helped to create a collective sense of connectedness, and contributed to the creation of social spaces, by interacting with others as they engaged in everyday neighborhood activities. This neighborhood contained shared territories and third places in which older adults walked, shopped, visited cafés, and used services. ...
This chapter explores the multifaceted meanings and experiences of neighborhoods in later life. It first defines the concept of neighborhood as ever-changing physical and spatial locations with socially constructed meanings, highlighting that older adults are in a continual process of transaction within the neighborhood context. Using everyday occupation as a lens to understand older adults’ complex experiences of their neighborhood, the authors then discuss how neighborhoods shape daily activities, community mobility, and social participation in later life. The chapter also discusses older adults’ experiences of neighborhood change and their contributions to their neighborhoods. In the last section, the authors describe methodologies and methods used to study neighborhoods and argue for multimethod approaches that can capture the dynamic, situated, and interconnected nature of older adults’ lives in that geographical space. Finally, place-making and participatory research are presented as effective methods to enhance older adults’ experiences of their neighborhoods.
... Moreover, absent ties consist of non-verbal general social interaction (e.g., visual contact), which refers to being 'engaged in social interaction that did not involve verbalised conversations' (Hickman, 2013, p. 228), such as seeing other people, watching children playing, watching sport or activities. Some scholars suggested that non-verbal absent ties social interaction, like simply seeing other people, can also benefit people's wellbeing (Gardner, 2011;Hickman, 2013). For example, Gardner (2011) found that some residents enjoyed just seeing others while in outside open spaces, particularly in situations where people felt socially isolated. ...
... Some scholars suggested that non-verbal absent ties social interaction, like simply seeing other people, can also benefit people's wellbeing (Gardner, 2011;Hickman, 2013). For example, Gardner (2011) found that some residents enjoyed just seeing others while in outside open spaces, particularly in situations where people felt socially isolated. For example, during the COVID-19 period, people might benefit from simply seeing other people (Lopez et al. 2021). ...
The COVID-19 outbreak and associated lockdowns have heightened the challenges of social isolation in urban communities. Social interaction is recognized as a key factor in promoting people’s health, wellbeing, and social sustainability within urban communities. Public open spaces serve as a vital link between communities’ environment and individuals’ wellbeing. However, there has been limited research exploring how community parks impact residents’ social interaction in urban communities during the pandemic, particularly a lack of in-depth qualitative research in this area. To address this gap, this research investigated the impact of community parks on social interaction in master-planned communities in Sydney, using a qualitative case study method. A total of sixteen residents living in two selected communities—Breakfast Point and Liberty Grove—were interviewed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. It was found that three themes and seven underlying subthemes of park-use factors influence residents’ social interactions: (1) quality of park spaces (rest spaces, BBQ/picnic recreation spaces, children’s playgrounds, sport facilities, and nature amenities), (2) pedestrian integration of parks (interconnected park network and well-dispersed small parks), and (3) pedestrian connectivity with surroundings. The findings provide theoretical, empirical, and practical implications for promoting social wellbeing and community sustainability in the post-COVID era.
... Before the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults had geographically variable activity spaces with complex emotional relationships to place (P. J. Gardner, 2011;Rainham et al., 2010;York Cornwell & Cagney, 2017). Early COVID-19 lockdown policies required that the majority of individuals rapidly transition their daily activities to their homes. ...
... 0;Pinquart & Sorensen, 2001), which compounded pandemic-related factors, placing them at greater risk for emotional distress. An older adult's spatial life is closely tied to their emotional state (Cristoforetti et al., 2011). The home holds emotional meaning and social functions for older adults, as do destinations they frequent (P. Gardner, 2014;P. J. Gardner, 2011;Garvin et al., 2012;Mysyuk & Huisman, 2019;Van Cauwenberg et al., 2012). These frequented destinations are termed 'third places,' locations of informal public life (e.g., libraries, coffee shops) that serve social functions in addition to their intended function (e.g., getting a book or coffee). These third places were closed during earl ...
This study investigates how information and communication technology (ICT) facilitated older adults' home modification to encompass pre-pandemic activities, as well as the health implications of this transition. Using a sample of 24 adults (65+) who lived in the Toronto area during the first summer of the pandemic (May 2020-August 2020), we conduct a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews about daily life, health, and ICT use. We employ difference of means and proportions tests using De Jong Gierveld 6-item loneliness scores to contextualize qualitative findings. We identified four qualitative themes encompassing a sense of loss of in-person socializing, ICT use to adapt routines and socializing to the home, and impacts on mental and physical health. Older adults adapted their homes into an activity place, although ICT was not key to this transition for everyone. Longing for third places suggests spatial agency is important for emotional well-being.
... Third places are public and commercial sites outside of home (first place) and work/school (second place) that support opportunities for physical activity, social support, community cohesion, purpose, self-identity, and access to essential services and care (Oldenburg, 1999;Klinenberg, 2018;Finlay et al., 2019). Third place engagement can enhance social participation and buffer against social isolation and loneliness (Gardner, 2011;Finlay et al., 2020;Torres, 2019). While quantitative literature on this topic is scarce, one US-based study by Zhong et al. (2020) identified supermarkets, restaurants, sidewalks, and pharmacies as the most common places for social interactions among older adults. ...
... Their personal place identifications (Finlay and Rowles, 2021) had shifted. As a result, widely-acknowledged social health benefits of pre-pandemic third place engagement (e.g., Gardner, 2011;Finlay et al., 2020;Torres, 2019;Finlay et al., 2021b) may no longer be as robust for older adults, particularly with newfound awareness of their physiological vulnerability to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. ...
Little is known about longer-term changes to community participation since the COVID-19 pandemic onset and potential implications for health and wellbeing in later life. This multi-method investigation analyzes national data from the COVID-19 Coping Study. Statistical analyses of survey data (n = 1,630; mean age 67.9 years; data collected April/May 2022) identified that adults residing in the US still tended to stay inside their homes more often since the pandemic onset. Overall, participants decreased their engagement with amenities such as eateries, gyms, and arts and cultural sites. Reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 57; mean age 70.7 years; data collected May-July 2021) identified altered community participation with perceived long-term impacts on physical, mental, and social health and wellbeing. The results provide novel insights about the critical nature of ‘third places’ to support later life, and policy implications to strengthen community environments. Investment in outdoor, well-ventilated, and distanced third places may support wellbeing.
... There is some evidence of the connections between neighbourhood environments and older adults' well-being (Besser et al., 2017;Yen et al., 2009). Older adults' well-being and quality of life are related to the quality and depth of their social relationships and their engagement in neighbourhood social activities (Gardner, 2011;Grant, 2007). Furthermore, infrequent social contact with neighbours and a weak sense of "neighbourhood belonging" are associated with more loneliness among older adults (Nyqvist et al., 2016). ...
... The hubs provide spaces where older adults can form meaningful social bonds and neighbourhood networks. Informal interactions and networks within places can be important for older adults' everyday lives and well-being (Gardner, 2011). By creating opportunities for connecting with others and meeting the needs related to the dimension "loving," social hubs help reduce social isolation and loneliness. ...
In recent years, many Finnish cities and municipalities have aspired to develop services that support older adults’ well‐being and social inclusion. This study focuses on the Social Hub model, a local social innovation developed in the city of Tampere. Social hubs operate on a neighbourhood level, providing free‐of‐charge service coordination and counselling, group activities, and meeting places for social gatherings. This study aims to look at whether this kind of local innovation can support older adults’ well‐being and social inclusion. The sociomaterial perspective and multidimensional model of well‐being (the having–doing–loving–being approach) provided theoretical and analytical guidelines to examine older adults’ experiences and perceptions of social hubs. The qualitative interview data was collected among people living in service housing, senior housing, or ordinary housing in the proximity of the social hubs studied. Face‐to‐face and “go‐along” interviews with 19 older adults aged between 57 and 96 were analysed with theory‐driven content analysis. The results showed that the hubs are a valuable local resource for older adults, providing free services, accessible and appealing shared spaces, and activities that promote social well‐being, physical activity, creativity, and autonomy. The hubs serve as important gathering points for older adults in the neighbourhood, fostering community‐building among citizens residing in different types of housing. The results highlight the importance of acknowledging well‐being as a multidimensional phenomenon. The Social Hub model provides one practical tool to support older adults’ well‐being and social inclusion by offering various kinds of resources and social and cultural activities.
... Importantly, such neighborhoods may attract older adults who are dissatisfied with their residences [30], which may in turn reinforce the concentration of older adults and demands for services in certain areas. Relatedly, older adults who do not move may enjoy stronger social networks and better social connections than those who move to other areas [31]. Second, Litwak and Longino [32] propose that older adults' decision to relocate is driven by changes in health. ...
We examined neighborhood-level demographic, economic, and social characteristics and food and health-services access to gauge the vulnerability of older-adult neighborhoods in New York State (NYS), which is understudied and is significant given the rapid aging of populations worldwide. We conducted descriptive ecological analyses using data from the American Community Survey, historical redlining maps, Social Capital Instruments, U.S. Department of Agriculture food access atlas, ESRI businesses, and Social Determinants of Health. We compared census tracts classified as having high and low levels of older-adult population; among those identified as high-older-adult neighborhoods, we then examined tracts with high and low levels of adult population living alone and in poverty. Our results showed that NYS neighborhoods with large shares of the older adult population are generally faring well in terms of their socioeconomic status, social capital, lack of social isolation, and health services access. However, the older-adult neighborhoods with larger shares of the population living alone and in poverty fare worse, living in areas with poorer socioeconomic status, lower social capital, and considered medically underserved. NYS older adult communities are projected to increase by 2030. Resources should be invested in such areas with vulnerable groups so populations may age in equitable and accessible communities.
... Age-friendly communities (a) provide health, recreational, and socialization opportunities; (b) encourage civic engagement; (c) improve accessibility of the built environment; and (d) increase access to services that help older residents to meet basic needs (The World Health Organization, 2007). In addition to age friendly communities, social networks are also sources of support, and contribute to the wellbeing of older people who are ageing in place (Gardner, 2011;Vos et al., 2020). As supported by other studies, social networks contribute to ageing in place, both directly as providers of social support and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) (Burt, 1997;Camp et al., 2021;Kahn & Antonucci, 1981), and more generally as enablers of health and wellbeing (Berkman, 2000;Cornwell & Laumann, 2015;Huber et al., 2016). ...
Older people value their independence and prefer to live in an environment they are familiar with and can benefit substantially from vital communities. The objective of this study is to examine the theorised contribution of vital communities to successful ageing in place, as increasing numbers of older people in western societies, are living longer independently at home, while their need for support gradually increases. A modified Delphi study was conducted and consisted of two stages. In the first stage, we conducted two panel discussions in order to develop statements representing the theorised contribution of the features of vital communities to the key themes of ageing in place. This was followed by the second stage which had three online Delphi rounds, and which aimed to reach a consensus among 126 international experts concerning the theorised contribution. The findings of this study showed a consensus among the experts about aspects that show the positive contribution with regard to the aim of vital communities (quality of life, belonging), and all the key themes of ageing in place (place, technology, social networks, support, personal characteristics). However, experts nuanced the theorised contribution of the mechanisms and typical characteristics of vital communities and the key theme of technology. According to the experts, whether technology contribute depends on the skills of older people and the type of technology. The findings of this study imply that vital communities could facilitate older people to age in place for as long as possible, while maintaining their quality of life.
... For example, institutionalization is associated with increased risk of infectious disease and perceived loss of agency, as well as the modification of well-established personal habits, physical and social environments, and autonomy (Bangerter et al., 2017;High et al., 2010;Hvalvik & Reierson, 2011;Lord et al., 2016). Conversely, care recipients who reside at home experience reduced mortality rates and increased quality of life through the maintenance of social relationships and continued feelings of familiarity and security (Elkan et al., 2001;Gardner, 2011;Rapaport et al., 2020;Sabia, 2008;Wiles et al., 2012). ...
Purpose
Swallowing difficulties have a substantial impact on the burden experienced by care partners of individuals with neurodegenerative disease. Given this, there is a clear need to easily identify and quantify the unique aspects of swallowing-related burden. The purpose of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of the Caregiver Analysis of Reported Experiences with Swallowing Disorders (CARES) screening tool in care partners of individuals with neurodegenerative disease.
Method
Survey data were collected from an international sample of 212 individuals caring for family members with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (n = 49), dementia (n = 110), or Parkinson's disease (n = 53). Respondents completed the CARES, Eating Assessment Tool-10, International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative–Functional Diet Scale, and Zarit Burden Interview. Reliability and validity of the CARES were evaluated via internal consistency alpha coefficients, Spearman's rho correlations, and logistic regression analyses with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
Results
CARES scores demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = .90–.95) and high test–retest reliability (r = .86–.91). The CARES was found to be valid, as increased swallowing-related burden was associated with increased severity of swallowing difficulties (r = .79 to .84), diet restrictiveness (r = −.50 to −.54), and general caregiver burden (r = .36 to .40). The CARES had excellent discrimination between care partners with and without self-reported swallowing-related burden, with a score of ≥ 4 suggesting a heightened risk of experiencing this burden.
Conclusions
Results establish the CARES as a valid and reliable screening tool that can detect burden related to swallowing difficulties among care partners of individuals living with neurodegenerative disease (score ≥ 4). Clinical implementation of the CARES requires the concerted efforts of the larger multidisciplinary team who can collaboratively identify the presence of burden and target the multifaceted sources of burden that a care partner may be experiencing.
... While some existing studies suggest that double-aging neighborhoods face issues in livability and resilience (4), making them unfavorable for AIP, our findings share some similarities with Ewen (35) that old communities have limitations in the service targets, accessibility, practicality, and scale allocation of public spaces. Fitzgerald and Caro (34) argues that the diversity and concentration of the older adults population require corresponding supportive living environments, and suggest that enhancing community service accessibility (35) and the number of community support networks (36) can effectively promote successful aging in place. Building upon this foundation, we have discovered the unique characteristics of the built environment in old cities and their distinct impacts on SAIP. ...
Introduction
The healthy aging of older adults in dual-older adult communities is influenced by multiple factors, and understanding its underlying mechanisms can promote healthy aging among the older adults in a wide range of developing countries. This comprehensive study delves into the intricate interplay between multifaceted built environmental factors, and their direct and indirect effects on the successful AIP residing in double-aging neighborhoods.
Methods
Applying a series of HLM, the research meticulously explores the intricate links between SAIP and multi-scale aging spaces, including home space, community social participation, and built environments.
Results
The results show that: (1) Older adults people’s need for spiritual comfort derived from home space exceed the need for financial support and family care, becoming a major positive factor for SAIP; (2) The neighborhood based on acquaintance society, partly replace the role of home-based care in influencing SAIP. Especially, community participation has a positive impact, serving as an extension of the home space, such as college for senior citizens and outdoor activity space; (3) The built environment of double-aging neighborhoods has a significant positive effect, with a sense of place identity replacing the reliance on family members and acquaintances to facilitate SAIP; (4) In high-density old district, the distribution of public facilities is saturated, and the proper utilizes of these facilities becomes an important factor affecting SAIP.
Discussion
We provide a multi-factorial perspective of SAIP, demonstrating the compensatory and substitutional roles of community-based older adults care services and friendly neighborhood relationships in fulfilling home-based older adults care functions. This approach better promotes the construction of age-friendly communities and supports SAIP.
... Across public health, sociology, psychology, and urban studies, there is substantial evidence to support the assertion that built environments have a considerable impact on the quantity and quality of human social contacts (Ciolek 1978, Sugiyama and Thompson 2006, Gardner 2011, Ward Thompson 2013, Lam and Wang 2022, Sandstrom et al. 2022, Seo and Kim 2022. The concept of 'open regions' was the first to be introduced to describe the types of places associated with spontaneous social interaction (Goffman 1963) and the concept of 'third place' (Oldenburg andBrissett 1982, Oldenburg 1997) emphasises the idea of inclusive places outside of home (the first place) and work (the second place) that are capable of hosting unstructured as well as organised social interactions. ...
... The outcomes also reflect that with the increase in age, peer effects become stronger and stronger among different age groups. On the one hand, middle-aged and elderly people are limited in function and activities [79], and communities are long-term places for them to live. Young people have more time and energy to participate in group activities, activities in a wider range of regions, and access to information through more diverse channels. ...
The responsible low-carbon behavior of household residents is a crucial factor for the purpose of achieving carbon neutrality in the economy and society. Based on the peer effects theory, this study constructs a fixed-effects model to empirically analyze the existence, heterogeneity, and action mechanism of peer effects in household carbon emission behavior, which uses panel data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). The results indicate that peer effects have a significantly positive impact on residents’ carbon emission behavior, and the results are verified by the robustness test in various ways. Further mechanism tests show that peer effects influence carbon emission behavior through methods including the learning imitation mechanism and competitive imitation mechanism. In addition, we find that peer effects have different impacts on residents’ carbon emission behavior in varying regions, income levels, education levels, and ages groups. This study aims to embed residents’ carbon emission behavior into the strong relationship between surrounding groups, raise consumers low-carbon awareness through publicity, guidance, and group interaction, form a low-carbon atmosphere for the whole society, and contribute to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals.
... egular physical activity in older age is associated with improved mental and physical health and wellbeing (Taylor et al., 2004) and is essential for positive ageing (Pocock et al., 2022). Walking in the local neighbourhood is a familiar mode of exercise and a convenient way to maintain physical activity and social connection (Gardner, 2011). Extensive research has examined environmental correlates of walking, with some research focused specifically on older adults (Grant et al., 2010;Van Cauwenberg et al., 2012;Vine et al., 2012;Ward Thompson et al., 2014). ...
Falls are a leading cause of injury and accidental death among older adults, but little is known about the built environment and falls risk. We present a virtual audit tool, Fall-SAFE, designed to assess the street environment from a falls-risk perspective, along with interrater reliability assessment of the tool. We then use the tool to describe the diverse street environment characteristics of locations of moderate to severe falls among older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. Fall-SAFE can aid better understanding of the environments in which falls occur and support interventions to reduce pedestrian falls.
... For the participants, the local shopping centre and the dial-a-ride bus represented meaningful social places where they had been building social relationships for several years. These places were therefore essential nodes in their neighbourhood networks (see Andrews et al. 2013;Gardner 2011), and the loss of grocery shopping trips represented disconnection from the wider community. However, previous research has indicated that discontinuity of mobility patterns can sometimes represent a welcome change. ...
This study contributes to an emerging body of research that combines new mobilities and gerontological perspectives. Most previous studies on older adults’ mobilities have analysed data collected at a single point in time and there is a need for studies that explore the meanings of movement and non-movement over time, especially in relation to unexpected life events. This work explores the meanings of older adults’ abruptly changing everyday (im)mobilities before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. It draws from qualitative interviews conducted with 11 older adults in a Finnish suburb in autumn 2019 and spring 2020, and focuses on grocery shopping, which most of the participants did themselves before the pandemic, but not during it. The findings provide insight into how meanings of everyday (im)mobilities are formed as older individuals (re)negotiate their relationships with their changing places of ageing. The participants’ views of their disrupted everyday mobilities were shaped by active person–place engagements. On one hand, the findings highlight that individuals are not at the mercy of their circumstances; they possess agency that can enable maintaining a sense of self and independence even in restricted mobility situations. On the other hand, the findings reveal relationalities that explain why sudden mobility loss often leads to diminished wellbeing. The relational nature of the meanings of (im)mobility implies that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting older adults who face mobility difficulties while ageing in their homes. It is crucial to recognise the diversity of older adults and to support their individual lifestyles.
... The ability to age in place is contingent on the adaptability of housing to meet the functional needs of its occupants, which may include the integration of assistive devices and technologies, supportive services, and home health care [17]. The concept extends to the neighbourhood level, where the availability of resources, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and healthcare facilities within accessible distances, is crucial [18]. ...
Background: As the global demographic shifts towards an ageing population, the significance of the built environment in facilitating ageing in place gains prominence. This study addresses the critical question of how a built environment can support older adults’ independence and enhance their quality of life. Method: Utilising a systematic review of review papers, this research scrutinises existing literature to uncover the influence of urban planning, physical accessibility, and residential design on the older people’s physical and mental well-being. More specially, the study methodically examines existing review articles that span various aspects of the built environment related to ageing in place. Results: The analysis reveals that specific elements of the built environment, notably rational urban planning and accessible urban spaces, as well as adaptable housing designs, significantly impact ageing individuals’ health, social engagement, and overall satisfaction with life. It also identifies contradictions in the effects of environmental features on cognitive health and well-being, underscoring areas that warrant further exploration. Conclusions: The study concludes that thoughtful urban and housing designs are pivotal in creating age-friendly environments that support ageing in place. It emphasises the need for future research and policy development aimed at enhancing the living conditions of older adults within their communities.
... Thirdly, social networks serve as a covert channel for resource acquisition [44,45]. The larger the scale of social networks, the greater the availability of resources [46]. With the expansion of social networks, increased material and economic support for rural elders reduces their reliance on land for their livelihoods, thereby increasing the likelihood of land transfer [30]. ...
The elders in China’s rural areas are facing challenges in maintaining agricultural production due to the outflow of rural laborers. The Transfer of land could alleviate the burden of land-based livelihoods for rural elders, but their decisions regarding land transfer are influenced by their social networks within the context of Chinese rural society. This study investigates how social networks impact the willingness of rural elders to transfer land. Using survey data from 782 rural elders in 32 villages across 11 provinces in China, this paper applies multilinear and binary logistic regression models. The results indicate that the willingness of rural elders to transfer land is affected by their social neteork: (1) Internal network scale, network heterogeneity, and frequency of external network relationships have a significantly positive influence on rural elders’ willingness to transfer land, while frequency of internal network relationships has a significantly negative influence. (2) There are group differences in the above impacts, and these significant impacts occur only among male elderly individuals aged 60-69 years old or living in central and western regions. (3) Social networks primarily influence rural elders’ willingness to transfer land through three mechanisms: information consultation, interpersonal trust, and material resource acquisition. A larger internal social network scale, higher heterogeneity within the network, and more frequent interactions with members of external networks lead to greater access to useful information, higher levels of trust in others, increased material resources availability, and an increased likelihood of transferring land. These findings can inform government policies aimed at improving practices related to land transfers and old age security for rural elders.
... As a result, the social connections developed, through engagement with voluntary groups, can provide the basis of important networks of support where people live. Gardner (2011) highlights the potential of what she terms 'natural neighbourhood networks', comprising a diversity of actors and spaces that support local populations both during times of crisis and in everyday life (Yarker, 2022). The next section examines the role played by community organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the support provided to people's homes and neighbourhoods. ...
... Home and school provide formal and informal support, constituting the primary spaces of learning, physical activity, play, and socialization (Tranter & Malone, 2004). Third places, including parks, community centers, libraries, shops, and interconnecting streets, are the foundation of children's social life within the community (Gardner, 2011). ...
... As a result, the social connections developed, through engagement with voluntary groups, can provide the basis of important networks of support where people live. Gardner (2011) highlights the potential of what she terms 'natural neighbourhood networks', comprising a diversity of actors and spaces that support local populations both during times of crisis and in everyday life (Yarker, 2022). The next section examines the role played by community organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the support provided to people's homes and neighbourhoods. ...
... Mackenzie et al. (2015) apuntan a que el número de personas identificadas en su comunidad local va disminuyendo y son reemplazadas por un creciente número de habitantes más jóvenes. Las redes naturales de vecindad, como redes informales de relaciones que mejoran el bienestar y configuran la cotidianidad de las personas mayores que envejecen en su lugar de residencia (Gardner, 2011), juegan un papel importante en este conjunto de relaciones sociales y, normalmente, se describen como recíprocas y de apoyo mutuo. En este marco se sitúan también los postulados de la ciudad cuidadora propuesta por Valdivia (2018). ...
Contar con un entorno urbano adaptado a las necesidades de las personas mayores es clave para garantizar un envejecimiento activo y un bienestar físico y emocional entre ellas. En este artículo presentamos los resultados de un proyecto donde se han entrevistado a 38 personas de edades muy avanzadas (entre 73 y 95 años) para estudiar la relación entre envejecimiento, soledad y espacio público en Barcelona. Aunque se ha producido una mejora significativa en la calidad y la accesibilidad del espacio público, así como en la dotación de equipamientos, estas personas, que presentan algunos problemas de salud y una reducción en algunos casos importante de su movilidad, inciden y proponen determinadas medidas para una mejora de la calidad del espacio público y su entorno más próximo, el barrio, para asegurar su independencia y autonomía y mejorar su calidad de vida. La mayoría considera que su barrio es un buen lugar para envejecer y propone continuar trabajando en la mejora de la caminabilidad del espacio público, su mantenimiento, el incremento de las condiciones de seguridad, así como la creación de más equipamientos para gente mayor y que cuenten con mayor dotación de personal.
... When faced with physical and/or mental vulnerabilities, independently living seniors become more dependent on their social network, which in many cases decreases with old age (Knipscheer et al., 1995;Van Campen et al., 2018). Moreover, due to reduced mobility, daily activities of (more vulnerable) seniors often take place in the vicinity of the home, which emphasizes the importance of social contacts in their immediate neighborhood (Gardner, 2011). However, the social needs of seniors in terms of contact with neighbors and public familiarity are often insufficiently supported by their residential environment (Daalhuizen et al., 2019). ...
... Another U.S. study concerning the impact of the closure of third places during 2008-2015 on community health and wellbeing included private establishments and public/civic organisations [46]. Te Canadian case study in downtown Toronto articulated the role of third places and transitory zones in providing older residents with a sense of belonging [47]. In Gardner's account, third places comprised public parks, local businesses, community places and institutions (e.g., clubs and churches), and destinations much closer to home (e.g., porch, backyard, and balcony). ...
There is an increasing recognition of the impact of built environment in the neighbourhood on healthy ageing, especially in the context of ageing in place. This study examines perceptions of third place and its potential value for mitigating loneliness in older adults. Thirty participants aged 65–89, living in ordinary housing across three neighbourhoods in the city of Stockholm, Sweden, conducted the interview-based sorting procedures, namely, Multiple Sorting Tasks (MST). In each individual MST procedure, the participant was asked to sort twenty pictures into groups using his or her own categories. The data were analysed using Multidimensional Scalogram Analysis, integrating qualitative data input and quantitative statistical analysis of the categorisations. Accessible local third places, which facilitate physical activities (especially walking) and community building (meaningful social connections) and provide options for food (a medium for social interactions), were seen as vital resources to combat loneliness. Thus, these places are supportive built environment elements of healthy ageing and ageing in place. The management aspect in third places operated by municipalities, including designing diverse public programs and services, and the service mentality of the staff members play an important role in making these places feel safe, at home, and potentially lessen the experience of loneliness to some extent. This study adds an urban design and planning perspective that can be integrated into environmental approaches to combat loneliness among older adults living in the community.
... What is more, successful aging also means 'aging in place', that is, having the resources and ability to live in one's own home and community. Aging in place is generally what older adults want-it sustains the sense of belonging to a community and favors the maintenance of social ties (Gardner, 2011;Rook, 2015), two dimensions associated with positive outcomes, including better physical and mental health, lower stress, physical activity, and survival. Social isolation and perceived loneliness can be particularly detrimental in old age. ...
... For example, 'older persons' are used by WHO [4]. At the same time, seniors [7; 8], elderly [9][10][11][12], and older adults [13][14][15][16][17] are also used across scientific communities. Among these definitions and descriptions, we chose the terms older adults because of its common use, however, we would say that there is no defined age for older adults. ...
As the world population ages, the role of environmental design in promoting the health and well-being of older adults becomes increasingly important. This study aims to explore the concept of nearby nature and its potential benefits for the aging population, focusing on the specific needs and preferences of older adults. The study adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, involving researchers and practitioners from various fields including environmental psychology, urban planning, plant sciences, and landscape architecture. Through systematic steps of data compilation, categorization, and integration, the study identifies key themes related to designing for older adults as individuals and as a stage of life. These themes encompass aesthetics, thermal comfort, personal experiences, social cohesion, embracing changes and losses, sensory perceptions, and risks.The resulting design recommendations address both the physical requirements, such as accessibility and mobility, and the mental requirements, such as feelings, perceptions, and emotions, of older adults. The guidelines provide insights for creating inclusive and accessible nearby nature spaces that cater to the unique needs of older adults. This study emphasizes the importance of collaboration between researchers and practitioners in developing design solutions for the aging population. By bridging the gap between scholarly knowledge and practical expertise, the study contributes to the maturation of landscape architecture as a discipline. The findings and recommendations can serve as valuable tools for designers, planners, and decision makers in creating environments that promote the well-being and quality of life of older adults in urban areas.
... Housing as well as neighbourhood features, such as transportation, recreational opportunities, and amenities that facilitate physical activity, social interaction, and cultural engagement are crucial aspects in people's ability to age in place (Wahl and Weisman, 2003;Buffel et al., 2019;Gardner, 2011;Wiles et al., 2012). ...
The aim of the paper is to provide an empirical framework of the ageing process in Italy, with a focus on aging in place and mobility behaviour of the elderly, as emerging from two national surveys: the “Aspects of Daily Life” survey by ISTAT and the ISFORT mobility survey. Results show that the Italian cities and towns are sufficiently age-friendly, with some improvement opportunities to be implemented. Loneliness and isolation represent a warning sign, hindering the aging in place. Finally, the study confirms that the Italian older adults use public transport only a few times, in favour of private cars.
... The neighborhood environment can serve as a health-promoting pillar supporting both health and well-being (15). Neighborhood environments may be an even stronger predictor of health in the context of older adulthood, as older adults may spend more time in their neighborhoods (16)(17)(18)(19). Specifically, neighborhood social and physical disorder is linked to poorer health among residents (13,(20)(21)(22)(23). Neighborhood disorder theory suggests that residents modify their behavior due to perceptions of threat toward safety and wellbeing (24,25). ...
Introduction
Approximately 32 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, and that number continues to grow. Higher prevalence rates are observed among certain subgroups, including members of marginalized racial/ethnic groups as well as residents of disordered neighborhoods (i.e., those with more trash and vandalism). Institutionalized discriminatory practices have resulted in disproportionate representation of marginalized racial/ethnic groups in disordered neighborhoods compared to non-Hispanic Whites. These neighborhood disparities may partially contribute to health disparities, given that signs of neighborhood disorder often relate to a general withdrawal from the neighborhood, minimizing opportunities for both physical and social engagement. Yet, research suggests variability across racial/ethnic groups both in reporting rates of neighborhood disorder and in the extent to which neighborhood disorder is interpreted as posing a threat to health and well-being.
Methods
Using 2016–2018 Health and Retirement Study data (n = 10,419, mean age = 67 years), a representative sample of older US adults, this study examined the possibility of racial/ethnic differences in associations between perceived neighborhood disorder and type 2 diabetes risk. Participants reported their perceptions of neighborhood disorder and type 2 diabetes status. Weighted logistic regression models predicted type 2 diabetes risk by perceived neighborhood disorder, race/ethnicity, and their interaction.
Results
Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics had higher type 2 diabetes risk; these two groups also reported more disorder in their neighborhoods compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Perceiving more neighborhood disorder was associated with increased type 2 diabetes risk, but the interaction between race/ethnicity and disorder was not significant.
Discussion
Findings from the current study suggest that the negative effects of perceiving neighborhood disorder, a neighborhood-level stressor, extend to increased type 2 diabetes risk.
... Several studies have highlighted the dynamic nature of the places where aging occurs, underscoring key factors that can disrupt aging in place. Gardner (2011) found that informal social networks and community structures based on interdependence, not just independence, are key to quality of life for older adults aging in place. Using longitudinal data, Lewis and Buffel (2020) revealed how personal life events and shifting community contexts influence place attachment. ...
Local governments are increasing their efforts to provide services to older adults ranging from health and care for dependents to leisure and cultural activities. Despite the widespread adoption of the active aging paradigm, the intensity of the aging process and the capacity and preferences of local governments to address the consequences of aging are not uniformly distributed. This study examines variations in local government responses to aging based on a survey conducted between October 2018 and February 2019 among government officials and political representatives in municipalities in the Community of Madrid with a population exceeding 10,000 inhabitants. A descriptive exploration of the survey responses suggests variability in local governments’ approach to aging, which is associated with factors such as the concentration of older adults in the municipality and differences in available income levels. In municipalities that prioritize resource-intensive policies, such as health care and programs targeting poverty and the prevention of social exclusion, there is a higher concentration of older adults and lower levels of available income. Conversely, wealthier municipalities tend to focus on policies aimed at promoting leisure and culture. This divergence in local policy responses highlights the heterogeneity within the active aging paradigm. Furthermore, it provides a nuanced understanding of how these policies can be adapted and responsive to the specific needs of each municipality.
... Neighborhoods constitute a multidimensional phenomenon, a dynamic concept that includes a network of relationships between people and places beyond fixed geographical units [23]. Although, as a concept, neighborhood refers to a scale between housing and the city in a spatial sense, there are uncertainties in identifying the boundaries. ...
Regarding housing redevelopment in Türkiye, the unplanned scale increase is one of the most critical problems facing the cities that have grown due to immigration. One of the most critical problems in housing redevelopment is the inability to ensure locality and retain the current inhabitants. Due to the fact that the issues of locality and ensuring a sense of belonging are ignored in most cases, the housing units usually lack local architectural identity, resemble each other, and do not meet socio-cultural needs. The purpose of this study is to identify locally specific, value-driven results to ensure the continuity of the existing users in the event of housing redevelopment by conducting a field study in the Bursa Hürriyet Neighborhood, which had been formed under the influence of immigration and where the users have adapted over time and preserved their socio-cultural living habits. As a method, a questionnaire was distributed to the users, a list of questions generated with the Delphi technique was posed to the experts, and then both were analyzed. By ensuring the correct reading of local information, suggestions are presented in order to identify the appropriate scale for both users and the city with the “glocal approach” in cities developing under global influences.
Welcome to our Oculus 2015 publication. This publication, compiled by the Melbourne School of Design PhD students, aims to provide a brief snap shot of the incredible range of research projects being completed by this world renowned institution. The diverse range of projects demonstrates the interest and skill harnessed by the esteemed research cohort of 2015.
The publication has been divided into the following key themes: Ecology; Energy; Health; History; People; Performance; Planning; Risk and Structures. Within each theme a range of
research areas are prevalent stemming from specific key research trends. The word cloud, as illustrated on the left, illustrates the range of key words prevalent in this year’s publication.
The greater the size of keyword, the more prominent it features within this publication due to frequency of use. Thus this publication will not only demonstrate the culturally diverse and contextually rich research enquiries, but also highlight key research trends taking place at present.
As each theme unravels to present its own individual complexity and assortment of research projects, the links between each theme will become apparent as research areas start to collide and integrate. This interconnectedness is further emphasised by the map provided on page 94 that illustrates the sheer extent of each themes dependency on another.
Newfoundland and Labrador are experiencing an increase in the population of older adults, and this invites stakeholders to reflect on how to promote health and vitality. This discourse analysis study contributes to existing literature and provides information that is relevant for deliberations on healthy ageing. A purposive sample of 15 participants aged 65 years and above, recruited across the island of Newfoundland, provided interview data, which were analyzed following discourse analysis guidelines. A healthy ageing discourse is presented which extends the literature and current perspectives in Canada. The findings show that healthy ageing is not an either/or outcome, and is less a function of personal effort. Instead, healthy ageing involves ageing with the expected strengths and limitations, but with the support, services, and social connections of one’s natural community, which enable one to make the most of older age. The findings further suggest that an older-adult-friendly healthcare system is essential for healthy ageing. Such a system makes services accessible, affordable, delivered through an integrated team approach, and provides good quality services. Overall, the findings suggest that healthy ageing is experienced where a healthcare system that is friendly to older adults is indispensable. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Forming and sustaining social connections is widely understood as a deep human impulse reflective of the innate human need to have others with whom we can depend on and trust [1]. This insight has formed the backbone of many academic disciplines including sociology, anthropology, and philosophy [2, 3]. Social connection is increasingly championed as an important public health issue [4]. Furthermore, social connection and engagement are increasingly proposed in policy as ways to promote healthy ageing and enable community-living older people to flourish in their homes and communities for as long as possible [5, 6]. The focus on social connection and engagement aligns with the shift to positive, strengths-based approaches in ageing research. These approaches challenge ageist assumptions that later life necessarily involves diminished social contact and increased levels of social isolation and loneliness [7, 8].
Due to the increasing share of older people worldwide, the United Nations has directed an initiative towards a "decade of healthy ageing" to promote "age-friendly environments". This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how to promote social participation and everyday mobility in later life. The ambition is to increase the knowledge about how to create more age-friendly environments and social inclusion – for everyone. The study focuses on a social centre for older people in the municipality of Trelleborg in the south of Sweden. The social centre is located in an area with several retirement homes and hosts a variety of opportunities for social interaction for older people in combination with other services. The municipality also arranges free excursions for older people in the municipality departing from the social centre. Another initiative is a pilot project testing an autonomous bus outside of the social centre to ordinary public transport. The study includes observations, interviews with older people and officials, as well as travel-alongs. The results show that a combination of social participation and mobility can facilitate a more active everyday life for older people, increase social connectedness, and contribute to the creation of age-friendly environments.
El artículo presenta un análisis comparativo entre los modelos de covivienda senior y cooperativas vecinales de mayores en el contexto español, evaluando su viabilidad desde la perspectiva económica, arquitectónica y social, con el objetivo de prevenir la soledad no deseada en la población mayor. El modelo de covivienda, que agrupa a personas mayores en comunidades intencionales con espacios compartidos, ha ganado popularidad en los últimos años. No obstante, enfrenta desafíos relacionados con su ubicación en entornos periféricos, la alta inversión económica y los largos tiempos de promoción inmobiliaria. Como alternativa, se propone el modelo teórico de cooperativa vecinal, que permite a los mayores en situación de soledad agruparse en viviendas dentro de sus propios barrios, liberando otras propiedades para ser alquiladas. Los resultados del análisis muestran que la cooperativa vecinal es más viable económicamente, flexible en su implementación y favorece un entorno urbano más inclusivo. Sin embargo, se requiere un mayor apoyo institucional para su desarrollo. La investigación concluye que este modelo es una estrategia prometedora para abordar el envejecimiento en el lugar, mejorar el parque residencial y fomentar la integración intergeneracional en las ciudades españolas.
The aim of the article is to present the idea of neighbourhood services, which were introduced into the catalog of benefits of the social assistance system under the amendment to the Social Assistance Act at the end of July 2023. Their implementation is possible from November 1, 2023. Neighbourhood services should be understood as support provided to lonely people who, due to age, illness, or other reasons, require the help of other people and for whom their immediate family is unable to provide this support. The services may include assistance in meeting basic living needs, hygiene and nursing care that does not require specialized knowledge and competences and ensuring contacts with other people. Support is provided by people living in the neighbourhood of the person in need. The work of caregivers-neighbours is rewarded in cash by the commune, whose council specifies in a resolution the detailed conditions for granting these services, their size and scope, and the method of settling their performance. The article presents the idea of neighbourhood support in theory and practice, as well as legal provisions regarding neighbourhood services in accordance with the Social Assistance Act. The last part of the text is devoted to good practices in the field of services and neighbourhood care in Poland and USA.
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the development of neighborhood networks in suburban areas for increasing adherence to breast cancer screening. Methods: This community-based intervention study was conducted among Iranian urban women aged 30 to 65 in 2021. The samples were chosen using a multi-stage random sampling process. Women were randomly assigned to intervention group (n=271) and control group (n=155). Following a three-month intervention period, participants were asked about their breast cancer screening behaviors to gauge the program’s success. Cognitive factors including perceived social support, perceived benefits and perceived barriers toward breast cancer screening, subjective norms, behavioral intention, and breast cancer screening behaviors were collected. The data were analyzed with SPSS statistical software version 21. Results: After the intervention, the results showed an improvement in the intention of referring to mammography centers, perceived benefits of early diagnosis of breast cancer, receiving social support, breast cancer screening behaviors, and a decrease in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer compared to the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Harnessing the power of social networks alongside educational initiatives and strong community support can provide a safe, affordable, and effective means of boosting participation in Breast Cancer Screening (BCS).
Purpose
This paper examined the significance of the built environment for shaping inclusion and social connections in housing with care (HwC) schemes for older people (50+ years) in England and Wales. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of how the availability, absence and use of communal spaces impacts social connections with other residents within HwC schemes.
Design/methodology/approach
Longitudinal and cross-sectional qualitative interviews were conducted with 72 residents across three HwC providers in England and Wales. Data were analysed using a thematic framework approach to examine how residents experienced their living environments.
Findings
Whilst the presence of communal shared spaces helps facilitate social connections and the development of friendships, full and equal access to these spaces remains challenging for residents with minority characteristics, and/or physical impairments. Building designers need to ensure they are complying with building regulations and the Equalities Act. The presence of on-site staff may also help to manage the impact of discriminatory attitudes.
Research limitations/implications
A key strength of this study is its design, both in using longitudinal and cross-sectional interviews and in recruiting respondents with marginalised characteristics, whose voices have often been excluded in gerontological research. Another strength, albeit unexpected, is that this study was able to capture perspectives across the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, however, may also have generated some limitations in this study. COVID-19 restrictions limited the ability to engage face-to-face within housing schemes whose residents were predominantly from different ethnic minoritised groups, and it therefore limits the inclusion of the voices and experiences of these groups. Responses in later interviews may also have been influenced by the changes in social engagement stimulated by lockdowns and may only be specific to the context of the pandemic. However, the findings reported here focus on the role and use of the built environment, and much of the interview content would feasibly apply regardless of the pandemic.
Practical implications
This research offers some key insights and implications for housing providers and policy. Housing providers and architects must ensure that the design of HwC schemes affords all residents access to every area of the built environment to maintain independence, autonomy and to adopt the ethos of the ageing in place agenda. If communal areas are to function as “third” or social spaces – if they are to remain equally accessible to all members of the community – then building providers must ensure that all areas are accessible to all residents in line with building regulations and the Equality Act (2010).
Social implications
Housing staff need to balance the natural development of friendship groups with the potential of the formation of exclusionary “cliques” within HwC schemes. Such cliques threaten the accomplishment of communal areas as “third” or social spaces and, as such, impact the quality of life for residents.
Originality/value
This study offers insights into how built environments support the development of social connections and friendships in HwC schemes. It also identifies ways that housing managers can ensure that all residents feel equally valued and included.
Objectives
To assess how the role of neighbors and friends in people’s networks changes with age and how this is affected by cohort, marriage, employment, and socioeconomic status. The hypothesis is that for most aspects of the network, friends lose ‘importance’ as people become older, with neighbors gradually becoming more dominant in the non-kin network.
Methods
Data are used for people aged 55-90 between 1999-2019 from the Swiss Household Panel (N=5,585). Four network aspects were measured: size, contact, practical support, and emotional support. Measures for neighbors and friends were compared and analyzed with fixed-effects and hybrid-effects regression models on person-year observations.
Results
The sizes of both network segments declined with age but more strongly for friends than neighbors. Contact with friends was stable but contact with neighbors increased. Support from friends declined whereas support from neighbors was stable. Direct comparisons revealed that the relative share of neighbors vis-à-vis friends increased as people age. Friends were more common and supportive vis-à-vis neighbors for divorced and widowed people than for married people, but this gap declined with age. The share of neighbors increased with retirement, especially for men. The share of neighbors vis-à-vis friends was also larger for people with less income and education and this gap did not change with age.
Discussion
In the non-kin part of older adults’ networks, proximity eventually becomes dominant. This finding is interpreted in terms of rising needs, greater opportunity for local contact, and friend mortality risks, all favoring the neighbor segment of the network.
In een superdiverse wijk is het niet vanzelfsprekend dat buren veel dagelijkse zorgtaken voor elkaar verrichten, al streeft het overheidsbeleid dat wel na. Dat blijkt uit ontmoetingen met ongeveer 50 bewoners, 32 mensen die in de wijk werken en maandenlange intensieve participerende observatie in Overtoomse Veld, Amsterdam. De voordeur is een behoorlijk harde grens.
Wel is er soms sprake van wat ‘alledaagse attentheid’ kan worden genoemd: een
oogje in het zeil houden en als het nodig
is, even helpen. Zoals de boodschappen naar boven tillen in het portiek of eten brengen naar een zieke buurvrouw. Vooral mensen die kwetsbaar zijn vinden het fijn als iemand vraagt: ‘alles goed?’ en als ze bij een buurman of -vrouw kunnen aankloppen in geval van nood.
Praktijken van alledaagse attentheid zien we bijvoorbeeld op de trappen van de portiekflat. Ook buiten het flatgebouw zijn er in Overtoomse Veld ‘attente plekken’ zoals de kringloopwinkel, de supermarkt
en de patatzaak. Attentheid kan ontstaan door de inrichting (zoals een zitje in de zaak) maar vooral door de mensen die er werken. In Overtoomse Veld is er volgens veel buurtbewoners een tekort aan dergelijke plekken.
Hoewel diversiteit door migratie het onderling contact tussen bewoners ingewikkelder kan maken omdat mensen elkaar niet (her)kennen, komt juist
naar voren dat vooral mensen met een migratieachtergrond vaker attent lijken
te zijn voor iemand met een Nederlandse achtergrond, dan andersom. Ook blijken er in Overtoomse Veld weinig plekken te zijn waar mensen van alle leeftijden en achtergronden zich thuis voelen of anderen kunnen ontmoeten. Vooral kwetsbare mensen met een Nederlandse achtergrond vinden dat
er te weinig plaats voor hen is in de wijk.
Dit rapport bevat aanbevelingen hoe in een superdiverse wijk alledaagse attentheid bevorderd kan worden.
Not ageing in place is an increasing reality for many older Europeans. For several decades societies have applied different care models in developing initiatives to provide safe and age-friendly spaces. This article presents the community care model implemented by the Italian service provider ISRAA in Treviso (Italy) in one of its nursing homes and senior cohousing projects. The aim of our study was to analyse this senior community care model and find out how residents have responded to it. Participants were both the older adult residents in the two ISRAA facilities and professionals responsible for their social attention. A qualitative methodology was used: questionnaire, interviews, and focus groups with professionals and care facility residents. Results reveal the care philosophy implemented, residents’ experiences, the main barriers to creating a community, and how this model could be improved by following community development principles, with the older people’s help, participation, and engagement. The conclusions highlight the importance of applying principles of self-determination and social inclusion in a preventive care model for the senior community. In addition, a key factor in promoting community development is for professionals to act as community development practitioners and to allow older adults to be part of the change.
Social support has been reliably related to physical health outcomes. However, the conceptual basis of such links needs greater development. In this article, I argue for a life-span perspective on social support and health that takes into account distinct antecedent processes and mechanisms that are related to measures of support over time. Such a view highlights the need to distinguish measures of perceived and received support and its links to more specific diseases (e.g., chronic, acute) and stages of disease development (e.g., incidence). I discuss both the novel implications of these theoretical arguments for research on social support and physical health, as well as the potential intervention approaches that are apparent from this perspective.
© 2009 Association for Psychological Science.
This paper aims to serve as a four-part introductory primer on the “go-along” qualitative interview methodology for studying the health issues of neighborhood or local-area contexts. First, I describe the purpose and different types of implementation of go-alongs. Second, I discuss its advantages for studying how place may matter for health (particularly in terms of the participants) and how it may facilitate researchers’ understandings of local knowledge as well as the social and physical context. Third, I consider the method's strengths and limitations for population health research on neighborhoods and local areas. Fourth and finally, I discuss how go-alongs may be used in tandem with other qualitative and quantitative approaches for multi-method research. Informing this discussion are my own experiences with a particular type of go-along interview—“walk-along” interviews—during a study of social capital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin neighborhoods.
The study examined social network types in a sample of 1,005 older Chinese adults in Hong Kong and the networks' relations to subjective well-being. Given the nature of kinship in Chinese society, we broke down social support provision by closeness of blood ties (immediate kin, distant kin, and non-kin). Using K-means cluster analysis, we identified 5 network types: diverse, friend focused, restricted, family focused, and distant family. The latter was characterized by few immediate kin but mostly distant kin. Diverse and family-focused networks were most beneficial to well-being, whereas restricted networks were least. Distant family networks were associated with only marginally lower well-being than family-focused networks and were comparable to friend-focused networks. Results suggested the importance of the extended family in support provision for Chinese older adults, especially in the absence of immediate kin and friends. Implications of the present findings for other cultural groups are discussed.
Research on the environmental psychology of later life has produced data and theoretical advances that have been incorporated into the design of nursing homes and housing, neighborhood planning, housing policy, and housing-related services for older people. The applications of knowledge have been particularly useful in compensating for behaviors impaired by the physical illnesses that become more prevalent with aging. Some research has also documented environmental transactions made with the intent of choosing, creating, or shaping environments that increase need fulfillment. These two directions of the transactions between the older person and the environment have been characterized as environmental docility and environmental proactivity. The need for more research on promoting opportunities for proactivity in an attempt to raise environmental quality is discussed.
This study examines the relationship of social ties and support to patterns of cognitive aging in the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging (see L. F. Berkman et al., 1993), a cohort study of 1,189 initially high-functioning older adults. Baseline and longitudinal data provide information on initial levels as well as changes in cognitive performance over a 7.5-year period. Linear regression analyses revealed that participants receiving more emotional support had better baseline performance, as did those who were unmarried and those reporting greater conflict with network members. Greater baseline emotional support was also a significant predictor of better cognitive function at the 7.5-year follow-up, controlling for baseline cognitive function and known sociodemographic, behavioral, psychological, and health status predictors of cognitive aging. The findings suggest the potential value of further research on the role of the social environment in protecting against cognitive declines at older ages.
With the geographical literatures and issues outlined in the first paper very much in mind, this paper focuses specifically on the places in the concepts and locales of gerontological nursing practice. Particular attention is paid to the role of nurses in the making of long-term care institutions and to some fundamental priorities of care. Consideration is also given to some broader impacts of neighbourhood and community as an important spatial context to nursing practice based both in institutions and the community. In the final section, the paper makes some observations on how place-sensitive practice and research might contribute to the uptake of evidence for practice. These discussions set the scene for the final paper in this special section focused on the future research agenda for place and older people nursing.
In this study, we test the robustness of previous social network research and extend this work to determine if support quality is one mechanism by which network types predict mental health. Participants included 1,669 adults aged 60 or older from the Americans' Changing Lives study. Using cluster analysis, we found diverse, family, and friends network types, which is consistent with the work by Litwin from 2001. However, we found two types of restricted networks, rather than just one: a nonfamily network and a nonfriends network. Depressive symptomatology was highest for individuals in the nonfriends network and lowest for individuals in the diverse network. Positive support quality partially mediated the association between network type and depressive symptomatology. Results suggest that the absence of family in the context of friends is less detrimental than the absence of friends in the context of family, and that support quality is one mechanism through which network types affect mental health.
Naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) are broadly defined as communities where individuals either remain or move when they retire. Using the determinants of health model as a base, we hypothesize that some environmental determinants have a different impact on people at different ages.
Health benefits to living within NORCs have been observed and likely vary depending upon where the specific NORC exists on the NORC to healthy-NORC spectrum. Some NORC environments are healthier than others for seniors, because the NORC environment has characteristics associated with better health for seniors. Health benefits within healthy NORCs are higher where physical and social environments facilitate greater activity and promote feelings of well-being.
Compared to the provision of additional medical or social services, healthy NORCs are a low-cost community-level approach to facilitating healthy aging. Municipal governments should pursue policies that stimulate and support the development of healthy NORCs.
To investigate the strength of the relation between the amount of green space in people's living environment and their perceived general health. This relation is analysed for different age and socioeconomic groups. Furthermore, it is analysed separately for urban and more rural areas, because the strength of the relation was expected to vary with urbanity.
The study includes 250 782 people registered with 104 general practices who filled in a self administered form on sociodemographic background and perceived general health. The percentage of green space (urban green space, agricultural space, natural green space) within a one kilometre and three kilometre radius around the postal code coordinates was calculated for each household.
Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed at three levels-that is, individual level, family level, and practice level-controlled for sociodemographic characteristics.
The percentage of green space inside a one kilometre and a three kilometre radius had a significant relation to perceived general health. The relation was generally present at all degrees of urbanity. The overall relation is somewhat stronger for lower socioeconomic groups. Elderly, youth, and secondary educated people in large cities seem to benefit more from presence of green areas in their living environment than other groups in large cities.
This research shows that the percentage of green space in people's living environment has a positive association with the perceived general health of residents. Green space seems to be more than just a luxury and consequently the development of green space should be allocated a more central position in spatial planning policy.
The purpose of this study was to examine the association of baseline network type and 7-year mortality risk in later life.
We executed secondary analysis of all-cause mortality in Israel using data from a 1997 national survey of adults aged 60 and older (N=5,055) that was linked to records from the National Death Registry up to 2004. We considered six network types--diverse, friend focused, neighbor focused, family focused, community-clan, and restricted--in the analysis, controlling for population group, sociodemographic background, and health factors. We carried out Cox proportional hazards regressions for the entire sample and separately by age group at baseline: 60-69, 70-79, and 80 and older.
Network types were associated with mortality in the 70-79 and 80 and older age groups. Respondents located in diverse and friend-focused network types, and to a lesser degree those located in community-clan network types, had a lower risk of mortality compared to individuals belonging to restricted networks.
Gerontological practitioners should address older adults' social networks in their assessments of clients. The parameters used to derive network types in this study can serve toward the development of practical network type inventories. Moreover, practitioners should tailor the interventions they implement to the different network types in which their elderly clients are embedded.
Parks provide places for people to experience nature, engage in physical activity, and relax. We studied how residents in low-income, minority communities use public, urban neighborhood parks and how parks contribute to physical activity.
In 8 public parks, we used direct observation to document the number, gender, race/ethnicity, age group, and activity level of park users 4 times per day, 7 days per week. We also interviewed 713 park users and 605 area residents living within 2 miles of each park.
On average, over 2000 individuals were counted in each park, and about two thirds were sedentary when observed. More males than females used the parks, and males were twice as likely to be vigorously active. Interviewees identified the park as the most common place they exercised. Both park use and exercise levels of individuals were predicted by proximity of their residence to the park.
Public parks are critical resources for physical activity in minority communities. Because residential proximity is strongly associated with physical activity and park use, the number and location of parks are currently insufficient to serve local populations well.
Acknowledgements Part I. Introduction: Geography Matters Doreen Massey: 1. A history of nature Mick Gold 2. The societal conception of space Robert Sack Part II. Introduction: Analysis: Aspects of the Geography of Society John Allen: 3. 'There's no place like ...': cultures of difference John Clarke 4. The spaced out urban economy Michael Ball 5. Jurisdictional conflicts, international law and the international state system Sol Picciotto Part III. Introduction: Synthesis: Interdependence and the Uniqueness of Place John Allen: 6. The re-structuring of a local economy: the case of Lancaster Linda Murgatroyd and John Urry 7. A woman's place? Linda McDowell and Doreen Massey 8. The laissez-faire approach to international labor migration: the case of the Arab Middle East Alan Richards and Philip L. Martin Part IV. Introduction: geography and Society Doreen Massey: 9. The nation-state in western Europe: erosion from 'above' and 'below'? Martin Kolinsky 10. Environmental futures Francis Sandbach Index.
The investigation of neighborhood effects on health raises a series of conceptual and methodological issues related to the presence of observations at a lower level (e.g., individuals) nested within observations at a higher level (e.g., neighborhoods). Many of these issues are generalizable to a broad set of common situations in epidemiology involving nested data structures. The presence of multiple levels of organization (or nested sources of variability) requires the development of theories about how factors defined at different levels are related to health outcomes, and identifying the most appropriate research design for the question being investigated based on the level about which inferences are to be made and the level (or levels) at which the constructs relevant to the outcome are defined and measured. This chapter reviews the use of group-level variables in epidemiology; summarizes the characteristics of ecological studies, studies of individuals, and multilevel studies; and discusses some of the conceptual and methodological challenges that multilevel analysis faces, using the example of the investigation of neighborhood effects on health.
Figures and Tables Introduction by Howard Litwin The Social Networks of Elderly People in Sweden by Lars Andersson and Gerdt Sundstrom The Lineage-Structured Social Networks of Older People in France by Claudine Attias-Donfut and Alain Rozenkier The Elderly in Spain: The Dominance of Family and the Wherewithal of the State by Francois Beland and Maria-Victoria Zunzunegui Profiles of the Social Networks of Canada's Elderly: An Analysis of 1990 General Social Survey Data by Leroy Stone and Carolyn Rosenthal Social Network Characteristics and Social Network Types Among Elderly People in Finland by Tuula Melkas and Marja Jylha Support Network Measurement and Typology Development in England and Wales by G. Clare Wenger Assessing Social Support Networks Among Older People in the United States by James Lubben and Melanie Gironda The Personal Network of Dutch Older Adults: A Source of Social Contact and Instrumental Support by Marjolein Broese van Groenou and Theo van Tilburg The Interpersonal Milieu of Elderly People in Jerusalem by Gail Auslander A Cross-National Social Network Analysis by Howard Litwin Bibliography Author Index Subject Index
Designed for professional geographers and tertiary-level students, this volume places the various words, terms and concepts that it defines within their contextual situation and thus contains a series of essays on geography and human geography as a whole and on various sub-disciplines. Both cross-referencing and in index provide linkages. The dictionary is arranged alphabetically, and many entries contain figures, references, and suggested readings. -Geo Abstracts
There is now renewed interest in ideas of "participation' and "involvement'. While these are regarded with some caution because of their populist associations, they are also at the heart of a number of important social policy and political debates and developments. This article attempts to put current concern about participation into context, relate it to the recent history of participation and explore some of the issues and implications it has for social policy. -Authors
This article introduces and evaluates the go-along as a qualitative research tool. What sets this technique apart from traditional ethnographic methods such as participant observation and interviewing is its potential to access some of the transcendent and reflexive aspects of lived experience in situ. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in two urban neighborhoods, I examine five themes which go-alongs are particularly suited to explore: environmental perception, spatial practices, biographies, social architecture and social realms. I argue that by exposing the complex and subtle meanings of place in everyday experience and practices, the go-along method brings greater phenomenological sensibility to ethnography.
A common claim made by New Urbanists is that a high-quality pedestrian environment will enhance sense of community by increasing opportunities for interaction among neighbors. This link between neighborhood design and community sentiment, however, has not been adequately researched. This study explores how objective and subjective qualities of the pedestrian environment influence residents’ sense of community, both directly and indirectly through their effects on pedestrian travel. Surveys conducted in one pedestrian-oriented neighborhood and one automobile-oriented neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, support the hypotheses that (1) sense of community will be greater in the traditional neighborhood and (2) pedestrian environment factors will significantly influence sense of community, controlling for various demographic influences.
This article examines the provision of in-home health and social support services to elderly clients in the context of home as the site of care. It considers gender in the provision of home support services by a marginalized group of employed women; in the experiences of elderly clients receiving services in the private sphere of the ‘home’; in the relationships between old people, family member(s) and home support workers; and in the gendered use of space within the household in care work. Informed by a self-reflexive, autobiographical perspective, the researcher’s experiences as a daughter in a family receiving home care prompted the re-examination of qualitative panel data from 150 home care workers and 155 elderly clients. It examines issues of territory and boundary, control and cooperation, the symbolic significance of home and the negotiating of contingent relationships when public services are provided in the private sphere of home.
Based on a longitudinal study of aging in rural communities in North Wales, the article describes the development of a typology of the informal support networks of elderly people based on qualitative data from an intensive study and subsequent operationalization for use in a large sample longitudinal survey (N = 534 at 77). Relationships with demographic variables and service use are described and policy implications identified. Network type was found to be highly predictive of service use and availability of informal support. The development of the typology as a practice tool for workers in community care is discussed.
The literature suggests that individuals will be healthier if they live in Active Community Environments that promote exercise and activity. Two key elements of such environments are walkability and safety. Examining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988-1994 and using a multilevel analysis, we found that individuals who live in counties that are more walkable and have lower crime rates tended to walk more and to have lower body mass indices (BMIs) than people in less walkable and more crime-prone areas, even after controlling for a variety of individual variables related to health. Among lifelong residents of an area, lesser walkability and more crime were also associated with respondents reporting weight-related chronic illness and lower ratings of their own health. The effect of high crime rates was substantially stronger for women than for men, and taking this interaction into account eliminated gender differences in walking, BMI, weight-related chronic conditions, and self-reported poor health. The results suggest that to promote activity and health, planners should consider community walkability, crime prevention, and safety.
The Great Good Place argues that "third places" - where people can gather, put aside the concerns of work and home, and hang out simply for the pleasures of good company and lively conversation - are the heart of a community's social vitality and the grassroots of democracy.
In our chapter in the first edition of this Handbook (see record
1994-98625-005), we presented two tables that summarized our positions, first, on the axiomatic nature of paradigms (the paradigms we considered at that time were positivism, postpositivism, critical theory, and constructivism, p. 109, Table 6.1); and second, on the issues we believed were most fundamental to differentiating the four paradigms (p. 112, Table 6.2). These tables are reproduced here as a way of reminding our readers of our previous statements. The axioms defined the ontological, epistemological, and methodological bases for both established and emergent paradigms. The issues most often in contention that we examined were inquiry aim, nature of knowledge, the way knowledge is accumulated, goodness (rigor and validity) or quality criteria, values, ethics, voice, training, accommodation, and hegemony. An examination of these two tables will reacquaint the reader with our original Handbook treatment. Since publication of that chapter, at least one set of authors, J. Heron and P. Reason, have elaborated on our tables to include the participatory/cooperative paradigm (Heron, 1996; Heron & Reason, 1997, pp. 289-290). Thus, in addition to the paradigms of positivism, postpositivism, critical theory, and constructivism, we add the participatory paradigm in the present chapter (this is an excellent example, we might add, of the hermeneutic elaboration so embedded in our own view, constructivism). Our aim here is to extend the analysis further by building on Heron and Reason's additions and by rearranging the issues to reflect current thought. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Most published research on informal care for older people focuses on the
support provided by relatives. The role of non-kin carers can, however, also
be significant in supporting older people in their own homes. In this paper, we
report the findings from an exploratory study of the support provided by
friends and neighbours who are the main carers of frail older people. It draws
on interviews with an opportunistic sample of friends, neighbours and older
people, which explored their views about the support arrangements, the
reasons why help was provided and any difficulties experienced. Several
friends and neighbours provided intensive and frequent help, and some played
a key role in co-ordinating other services. One of the main forms of direct
support related to older people's quality of life, at a broader level than the
practical help provided by statutory services. The flexibility of such support,
and the friends' and neighbours' concern for older people as individuals, were
particularly important to the people they helped. Nevertheless, such help was
not provided without costs to the carers. The study highlights the need for
policy-makers and practitioners not to take help from friends and neighbours
for granted and, in line with the White Paper Modernising
Social
Services, to
provide the support services they need.
Employing a political economy analysis of need as it relates
to the ageing of
the population in the context of the postmodern welfare state, this paper
attempts to go beyond the narrow confines of the apocalyptic demography
argument that an increasing dependent older population represents social
and fiscal catastrophe. Older people are caught between a social ethic which
values independence on the one hand, and, on the other, a service ethic which
constructs them as dependent. This paper argues that this dichotomy between
dependence and independence results from a depoliticisation of need, in part
the legacy of a radical individualism combined with a postmodern therapeutic
ethic. The deeper issues which lie at the heart of the apocalyptic demography
argument have to do with issues of need, reciprocity, and community. This
paper argues further that a moral economy of interdependence, based on the
notion of reciprocity, transcends the dependency/independency dichotomy,
repoliticises need, and thereby creates the possibility of a revitalisation of civil
society.
This paper examines changes to the community life of older people living in three urban areas of England: Bethnal Green, Wolverhampton and Woodford. All three were the subject of classic community studies in the 1940s and 1950s, these providing rich material about the lives of groups such as elderly people. Using this earlier research as a baseline, the paper presents data on how the experience of living in urban neighbourhoods has changed for older people in the intervening years. The article reviews the relationship between elderly people and their neighbours, drawing on quantitative as well as qualitative data. In conclusion, the paper identifies a number of general arguments pointing to the value of a community and locality perspective for understanding the impact of social changes on later life.
Past research on restorativeness has emphasized mainly the potential of natural environments. In our hypothesis, built environments are also likely to be recognized as restorative places. In this study, focusing on restorative experiences more than on environments alone, attention is drawn on the relative importance of the four restorative components proposed by “attention restoration theory”—being-away, extent, fascination, compatibility—in leisure experiences of people at different stages of the lifespan, and on the characterization of these experiences in terms of relaxation and excitement. We also take account of the time available for restoration and the context in which the need for restoration may emerge, according to three models of the relationships between work and leisure: spill-over, compensation and segmentation. Results show that natural and built environments can have different restorative potentials in relation to the stage of the lifespan and to the time available for restoration; moreover, in people's perception, the four restorative components differ from each other in their relative importance. The social and affective dimensions came out as important features of restorative experiences. Finally, relaxation and excitement in leisure patterns were shown to be differentially related to work characteristics. Briefly, restorativeness emerged as the result of a global “place experience”.
This article explores how biology, culture and the physical and social environments mutually inform the experience of old age. Findings drawn from a twelve- month ethnographic study of a Canadian supportive housing building show that home space provides the material resources necessary for the senior tenants to maintain their independence, sustain a meaningful existence, and resist institutionalization. Conclusions confirm that the engagement between place, culture, and health deterioration is more complex than suggested by conventional models based on biological, cultural or geographical causality.
To evaluate the association between neighborhood walkability and depression in older adults.
Cross-sectional analysis using data from Adult Changes in Thought (ACT), a prospective, longitudinal cohort study.
King County, Washington.
Seven hundred forty randomly selected men and women aged 65 and older, cognitively intact, living in the same home for at least 2 years.
Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The Walkable and Bikable Communities Project provided objective data predicting the probability of walking at least 150 minutes per week in a particular neighborhood. ACT data were linked at the individual level via a geographic information system to this walkability score using buffer radii of 100, 500, and 1,000 meters around the subject's home. Multiple regression analysis tests were conducted for associations between the buffer-specific neighborhood walkability score and depressive symptoms.
There was a significant association between neighborhood walkability and depressive symptoms in men when adjusted for individual-level factors of income, physical activity, education, smoking status, living alone, age, ethnicity, and chronic disease. The odds ratio for the interquartile range (25th to 75th percentile) of walkability score was 0.31 to 0.33 for the buffer radii (P=.02), indicating a protective association with neighborhood walkability. This association was not significant in women.
This study demonstrates a significant association between neighborhood walkability and depressive symptoms in older men. Further research on the effects of neighborhood walkability may inform community-level mental health treatment and focus depression screening in less-walkable areas.
This chapter outlines and brings together some key debates and theories about the place attachments that older people make at national, regional and local level. Based on a study of older people living in a range of locations and accommodation, the authors extend existing theories and describe place identity as a component of self identity. In particular, they position home as crucial to older people in terms of meaning, attachment and interaction. Their theory of re-engagement demonstrates how people constantly work on connections to environment.
This book is a detailed ethnographic study in which older people talk in depth about their experiences of living in a range of different places, including 'ordinary' and 'special' housing. From high-rise flat to care home, and from semi-rural to metropolitan locations, many respondents reveal how they have been able to achieve a 'life of quality' by constantly engaging with their environment to develop and maintain a strong sense of themselves as people who are well grounded in time and space.
Contemporary urban theory is marked by a division. Urban policy practitioners, planners, architects and town hall administrators have over the past two decades rediscovered an enthusiasm and belief in urban life—as indeed have significant numbers of ordinary citizens. It might have been expected that urban critics from the left would be enthusiastic about this rediscovered urbanity. In fact, the much-vaunted urban renaissance has been robustly criticised by academic urbanists, particularly by those working from within a political economy framework, as little more than elite propaganda. Rather than being defined by a renaissance, the contemporary urban landscape is almost uniquely riven by social divisions. In many ways, the critique offered by academic urbanists is powerful and convincing. But this paper argues that the academic—or urban political economy—critique of the contemporary urban condition comes at too high a price. Recognising the pervasiveness of many of the more destructive trends highlighted by the urban political economists, there is also a need to engage more positively with the broader contemporary enthusiasm for the city. Through a case study of a site in Auckland, New Zealand, the paper seeks to demonstrate how thinking carefully about both the context and the emergence of particular kinds of spaces and types of social practices associated with specific instances of urban change, can help us engage more productively with the current resurgence of interest in urban culture and cities.
Investigación sobre los cambios en las relaciones familiares y sociales de ancianos de tres áreas urbanas de Inglaterra (Bethnal Green en Londres, Wolverhampton en el Midlands, y Woodford en Essex).
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 1991. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 197-209). Photocopy.
The aim of this research was to derive network types among an elderly population and to examine the relationship of network type to morale.
Secondary analysis of data compiled by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (n = 2,079) was employed, and network types were derived through K-means cluster analysis. Respondents' morale scores were regressed on network types, controlling for background and health variables.
Five network types were derived. Respondents in diverse or friends networks reported the highest morale; those in exclusively family or restricted networks had the lowest. Multivariate regression analysis underscored that certain network types were second among the study variables in predicting respondents' morale, preceded only by disability level (Adjusted R(2) =.41).
Classification of network types allows consideration of the interpersonal environments of older people in relation to outcomes of interest. The relative effects on morale of elective versus obligated social ties, evident in the current analysis, is a case in point.
Obesity is a major health problem in the United States and around the world. To date, relationships between obesity and aspects of the built environment have not been evaluated empirically at the individual level.
To evaluate the relationship between the built environment around each participant's place of residence and self-reported travel patterns (walking and time in a car), body mass index (BMI), and obesity for specific gender and ethnicity classifications.
Body Mass Index, minutes spent in a car, kilometers walked, age, income, educational attainment, and gender were derived through a travel survey of 10,878 participants in the Atlanta, Georgia region. Objective measures of land use mix, net residential density, and street connectivity were developed within a 1-kilometer network distance of each participant's place of residence. A cross-sectional design was used to associate urban form measures with obesity, BMI, and transportation-related activity when adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Discrete analyses were conducted across gender and ethnicity. The data were collected between 2000 and 2002 and analysis was conducted in 2004.
Land-use mix had the strongest association with obesity (BMI >/= 30 kg/m(2)), with each quartile increase being associated with a 12.2% reduction in the likelihood of obesity across gender and ethnicity. Each additional hour spent in a car per day was associated with a 6% increase in the likelihood of obesity. Conversely, each additional kilometer walked per day was associated with a 4.8% reduction in the likelihood of obesity. As a continuous measure, BMI was significantly associated with urban form for white cohorts. Relationships among urban form, walk distance, and time in a car were stronger among white than black cohorts.
Measures of the built environment and travel patterns are important predictors of obesity across gender and ethnicity, yet relationships among the built environment, travel patterns, and weight may vary across gender and ethnicity. Strategies to increase land-use mix and distance walked while reducing time in a car can be effective as health interventions.
While gardening is seen, essentially, as a leisure activity it has also been suggested that the cultivation of a garden plot offers a simple way of harnessing the healing power of nature (The therapeutic garden, Bantam Press, London, 2000). One implication of this is that gardens and gardening activity may offer a key site of comfort and a vital opportunity for an individual's emotional, physical and spiritual renewal. Understanding the extent to which this supposition may be grounded in evidence underpins this paper. In particular, we examine how communal gardening activity on allotments might contribute to the maintenance of health and well being amongst older people. Drawing on recently completed research in northern England, we examine firstly the importance of the wider landscape and the domestic garden in the lives of older people. We then turn our attention to gardening activity on allotments. Based on the findings of our study, we illustrate the sense of achievement, satisfaction and aesthetic pleasure that older people can gain from their gardening activity. However, while older people continue to enjoy the pursuit of gardening, the physical shortcomings attached to the aging process means they may increasingly require support to do so. Communal gardening on allotment sites, we maintain, creates inclusionary spaces in which older people benefit from gardening activity in a mutually supportive environment that combats social isolation and contributes to the development of their social networks. By enhancing the quality of life and emotional well being of older people, we maintain that communal gardening sites offer one practical way in which it may be possible to develop a 'therapeutic landscape'.
This paper introduces the subdiscipline of geographical gerontology to the readers of International Journal of Older People Nursing, and the ways in which geographers and others have conceptualized place in relation to the experiences of older people and their health and well-being. Particular attention is paid to place as a process; its role in the exertion and negotiation of power; and as an experience open to interpretation; and how these relate to clinical practitioners. This review sets the scene for the following papers on practice and the future research agenda.
This qualitative analysis of focus groups describes how neighborhood design encourages active aging. Nine focus groups were conducted in 2002 and 2003 with residents (N=60) aged 55 and over living in Portland, OR, USA. Content analysis revealed that local shopping and services, traffic and pedestrian infrastructure, neighborhood attractiveness, and public transportation influence activity among older adults. This information will be useful for making policy recommendations relating to land use planning and transportation, to assist in senior-friendly developments and neighborhood improvements, and to design effective senior health interventions with an emphasis on neighborhood design influences.
There is no consensual definition of "successful aging." Our aim was to review the literature on proportions of subjects meeting criteria and individual components of definitions of successful aging as well as correlates of these definitions.
We conducted a literature search for published English-language peer-reviewed reports of data-based studies of adults over age 60 that included an operationalized definition of successful aging. The authors categorized the components of these definitions and independent variables examined in relation to successful aging (e.g., gender, education, and social contacts).
The authors identified 28 studies with 29 different definitions that met our criteria. Most investigations used large samples of community-dwelling older adults. The mean reported proportion of successful agers was 35.8% (standard deviation: 19.8) but varied widely (interquartile range: 31%). Multiple components of these definitions were identified, although 26 of 29 included disability/physical functioning. The most frequent significant correlates of the various definitions of successful aging were age (young-old), nonsmoking, and absence of disability, arthritis, and diabetes. Moderate support was found for greater physical activity, more social contacts, better self-rated health, absence of depression and cognitive impairment, and fewer medical conditions. Gender, income, education, and marital status generally did not relate to successful aging.
Despite variability among definitions, approximately one-third of elderly individuals were classified as aging successfully. The majority of these definitions were based on the absence of disability with lesser inclusion of psychosocial variables. Predictors of successful aging varied yet point to several potentially modifiable targets for increasing the likelihood of successful aging.
This paper contributes to recent literature that considers the role of everyday activity in constructing 'healthy space', specifically exploring the tension between agency and structural processes in explanation. The focus is a comparison of two groups of migrant women in British Columbia, Canada: South Asian Sikhs from Punjab, India, and Afghan-Muslim refugees. It explores the routine practices whereby they work to create 'healthy space' as they orchestrate their families' health. Through food preparation and consumption practices, traditional healing and religious observance, the women delineate the physical, social and symbolic dimensions of healthy space. The women's narratives demonstrate the productive capacity of everyday routines in forging healthy space within the particularities of migrant settlement.
There is growing interest in the impact that neighbourhood environment might have on the health of older people. Although the number of older Australian women, particularly those living alone, is projected to increase in coming decades, their experiences of neighbourhood have not been exclusively examined. The aims of this paper are: (1) to explore, from the perspective of these women, the social and physical dimensions of neighbourhoods and (2) to investigate variation in these accounts according to whether women lived in areas of higher or lower socioeconomic status. Twenty women aged between 75 and 93 years, residing in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia (SA), participated in a series of two in-depth interviews. Women's perceptions of their neighbourhood, and accounts of every-day activities in the community were analysed to determine how both social and physical aspects of neighbourhood might relate to health and wellbeing. Findings suggest that a reciprocal and trusting relationship with neighbours underpinned older women's sense of satisfaction with, and feeling of security within, the neighbourhood. Other factors such as living in close proximity to services and existing social networks were also seen as important. Women's stories demonstrated that they were able to draw on both existing social networks and neighbours to sustain their independence and social connection within the community. Women living in more disadvantaged areas were more conscious of social disconnection in their neighbourhoods, and to the way that traffic noise and pollution detracted from their neighbourhood environment. These findings indicate that, for older women living alone, trusting and reciprocal relationships with neighbours are likely to form an important part of their broader social support network and should be recognised in relation to the process of maintaining the health of older women living in the community.