Impact of Older Adults' Neighborhood Perceptions on Walking Behavior.

J Aging Phys Act

Center for Inclusive Design & Environmental Access, School of Architecture & Urban Regional Planning, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.

Published: April 2016

Built environment features can have varying impacts on user behavior depending on the perceptions of the opportunities and obstacles that the environments create. This study systematically evaluated the relationship between neighborhood perceptions and the specific types of self-reported walking behavior for 121 older adults who resided in urban, suburban, or rural neighborhoods. Perceptions of street connectivity, crime and traffic safety, and overall satisfaction were associated with specific types of walking behaviors, and the strength of the relationships differed by neighborhood type. Sociodemographic variables such as age and sex were associated with certain types and amounts of older adults' walking behaviors both across and within each neighborhood type. The results of this study support the importance of perceived street connectivity regardless of neighborhood type and perceived crime safety in rural neighborhoods to impact the walking behavior among older adults.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/japa.2014-0278DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

walking behavior
12
neighborhood type
12
older adults'
8
neighborhood perceptions
8
specific types
8
older adults
8
rural neighborhoods
8
street connectivity
8
walking behaviors
8
neighborhood
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!