Physical activity, built environment, and functional limitations in older adults: A social-ecological perspective
Final Report Abstract
The project investigated the associations between the built environment and physical activity in older adults. The research was conceptually informed by a social-ecological perspective, and studied the complex interrelation between the individual, and built environmental factors. To pursue the project’s aims, I applied multiple datasets from North America and Europe. The Neighborhood and Physical Activity Study by Prof Chaudhury (Simon Fraser University, Canada) provided an unique opportunity to calculate comparative analyses in the two metropolitan areas of Vancouver (Canada) and Portland (USA), while the European Project on Osteoarthritis enabled me to compare associations between the perceived built environment and physical activity across six European countries. The research project complemented perceived environmental characteristics with objective geographic data retrieved from a geographic information system. Deviations between these two methods have been often reported in the literature, but explanations are quite rare. We discussed in one manuscript how the presence of physical limitations made older adults experience their close neighborhood as more threatening in terms of crime and traffic. I followed up on the impact of physical limitations by comparing older adults with lower limb osteoarthritis to individuals without the condition. Following the hypothesis derived from the Person-Environment fit model, we were able to show that neighborhood resources were stronger related to physical activity if osteoarthritis was present. Thereby, we have also found that social participation served as a mediator in this relationship. In the last step, I brought together physical activity, derived from a telephone survey and environmental features of the neighborhoods based on environmental audits (using “The Senior Walking Environmental Assessment Tool – Revised”). We found that walking for transport was related to neighborhood characteristics such as safety from traffic and the presence of parks and recreational areas. Overall, Canadians spent more time walking for transport than Americans and relied more on neighborhood characteristics. In summary, the project found associations between a wide range of built environmental resources and higher physical activity levels in older adults consistently. Thereby, not all physical activities were related to neighborhood features in the same vein. Walking for transport was the most promising kind of activity that was most likely affected by the nearby environment while exercise and walking for recreation are more likely to take place in a more remote place from home. Vulnerable groups are even more dependent on the built environment which is in line with the Person-Environment Fit model. Removing built environmental barriers and providing more resources (such as making traffic safer for pedestrians, having public transport nearby, etc.) leading to increased physical activity with an exaggerated effect in older adults with functional limitations.
