Very old people’s use of the pedestrian environment: functional limitations, frequency of activity and environmental demands

TY - JOUR

T1 - Very old people’s use of the pedestrian environment: functional limitations, frequency of activity and environmental demands

AU - Hovbrandt, Pia

AU - Ståhl, Agneta

AU - Iwarsson, Susanne

AU - Horstmann, Vibeke

AU - Carlsson, Gunilla

N1 - The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Division of Occupational Therapy (Closed 2012) (013025000), Transport and Roads (011034010)

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - Due to decreased functional capacity as well as high environmental demands there is a risk of diminishing activity outside home in very old age (age 80+). In order to explore differences according to functional limitations (FL) among very old people with respect to frequency of activity, perceived health, overall perception of neighbourhood environment, and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment, data derived from a postal questionnaire survey to very old people living in an urban area in Sweden were used. This explorative study is based on the sub-sample of people aged 80+ who reported outdoor activities (n = 97). Four groups of respondents with different types of FL were identified: with no FL (n = 23), with only movement-related FL (n = 26), with only perception/cognition-related FL (n = 16), and with both movement- and perception/ cognition-related FL (n = 32). The majority of the respondents reported rather high frequency of activity outside home. When examining differences between the four groups, the analysis indicated how the complexity of FL and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment impacted on their activity performance. Persons with both movement- and perception/cognition-related FL were less satisfied with their frequency of activity, experienced their health more negatively and experienced more problems in the pedestrian environment than in the other groups. The findings from this study indicate the importance of considering combinations of FL in creating supportive environments for activity and health.

AB - Due to decreased functional capacity as well as high environmental demands there is a risk of diminishing activity outside home in very old age (age 80+). In order to explore differences according to functional limitations (FL) among very old people with respect to frequency of activity, perceived health, overall perception of neighbourhood environment, and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment, data derived from a postal questionnaire survey to very old people living in an urban area in Sweden were used. This explorative study is based on the sub-sample of people aged 80+ who reported outdoor activities (n = 97). Four groups of respondents with different types of FL were identified: with no FL (n = 23), with only movement-related FL (n = 26), with only perception/cognition-related FL (n = 16), and with both movement- and perception/ cognition-related FL (n = 32). The majority of the respondents reported rather high frequency of activity outside home. When examining differences between the four groups, the analysis indicated how the complexity of FL and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment impacted on their activity performance. Persons with both movement- and perception/cognition-related FL were less satisfied with their frequency of activity, experienced their health more negatively and experienced more problems in the pedestrian environment than in the other groups. The findings from this study indicate the importance of considering combinations of FL in creating supportive environments for activity and health.

U2 - 10.1007/s10433-007-0064-2

DO - 10.1007/s10433-007-0064-2

M3 - Article

VL - 4

SP - 201

EP - 211

JO - European Journal of Ageing

JF - European Journal of Ageing

SN - 1613-9380

IS - 4

ER -