Built Environmental Correlates of Older Adults' Physical Activity in 2 Metropolitan Areas

Florian Herbolsheimer (Simon Fraser University)
Habib Chaudhury (Simon Fraser University)
Atiya Mahmood (Simon Fraser University)

Objective. Older adult’s physical activity and health are associated with the quality of the built neighborhood environment. This relationship is particularly important for older adults, for whom physical activity and independent transportation are critical for healthy aging-in-place. Therefore, it is necessary to identify built environment characteristics that contribute to older adults’ physical activity.

Methods. The present study brings together two sources of data from eight neighborhoods in the Portland and Vancouver metropolitan area. Trained observers evaluated 355 street segments (defined as the street between two intersections) using the Senior Walking Environmental Audit Tool – Revised (SWEAT-R). These data were combined with a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in the same districts asking a range of daily physical activities. The outdoor physical activity score was calculated by adding up walking, cycling, gardening, and sports. Multilevel regression models were used to examine physical activity and characteristics of the built environment.

Results. The study included 434 older adults with a mean age of 71.6 (SD=8.1) years. Districts with badly maintained sidewalks that were dirty, graveled, or under repair and constructions blocking pedestrians were negatively related to the time spent on outdoor physical activities (p = 0.004). On the contrary neighborhoods with service facilities, bike lanes, traffic circle, and sidewalk extensions were associated with more time spent on outdoor physical activity.

Conclusion. The immediate physical environmental context has potentially important relevance in supporting physical activity in older adults. Neighborhoods built environmental aspects may foster or hinder older adults in staying physically active.