Background: "Active aging" is an inclusive term and has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review was to identify those aspects that play significant roles in building this concept using an ecological approach. Methods: In this study, seven online databases, including JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Scopus, were searched from 2002 to 2018 for both qualitative and quantitative articles published in English. Two reviewers independently found the related articles using the search terms "active aging" and "built environment" and included both "ageing" and "aging". Results: Of 1500 records which passed the screening stage, 92 were eligible for inclusion in the review. A total of 15 subthemes were derived: (1) personal characteristics, (2) behavioral attitude, (3) land use, (4) access, (5) physical form, (6) cityscape/city image, (7) public open spaces, (8) housing, (9) social environment, (10) cultural Environment, (11) economic environment, (12) good governance, (13) physical health, (14) mental health, and (15) social health. Ecological themes of active aging can be defined as the 5P model: person, processes, place, prime, and policymaking. Conclusions: The results of this study can shed light on different aspects of active aging. Also, the results emphasized the significance of the multidimensional nature of active aging, micro (person), meso (process), and macro systems (place and policymaking), based on health (prime) environments. Moreover, the results were based on the relationships between the person and the environment at the individual, interpersonal, and environmental levels, which can be used to conduct future studies and develop policies on aging populations.

Background An essential element in the process of “aging well” is the concept of Active Aging (AA). To propose an operational definition of Active Aging, the present study seeks to develop a new measurement tool through an ecological approach. The aim is to recognize significant indicators that play a role in assessing AA in urban areas. Methods This study was conducted through a two-phase process of consensus-building: 1) identifying a set of indicators that were likely candidates for inclusion based on literature review, and 2) a two-round modified Delphi survey using an international panel of academic experts in environmental sciences and gerontology to achieve consensus on the importance of the extracted indicators and validate the items. The panelists were asked to complete a researcher-developed questionnaire with an 11-point Likert scale based on the indicators derived in phase 1. Finally, the Delphi survey’s valid indicators and criteria were utilized to develop the measurement tool. Results At the outset, a list of 111 indicators of AA was prepared through the desk study. A panel of 22 experts reviewed the extracted items and arrived at a consensus on 99 items in the first round and finalised in the second round. Thematic analysis of the panelists’ open-ended responses revealed new concepts that would be explicitly considered by the consensus group. This developed measurement scale consists of five domains, i.e., individual, spatial, socio-economic, governance, and health-related, which contain 15 criteria and 99 indicators. Conclusions The present researchers have developed the active aging measure for urban settlements (AAMU), which can be used both by policy-makers and as an informal self-reported statement among the elderly. AAM’s results in the elderly’s residential environmental communities can improve policy-making to address urban design to sustain an active, healthy life among older people in urban environments.

Background: Today, the beneficial impact of public open spaces(POS) on the mental and physical health of the elderly is considered worldwide. However, the knowledge about these effects on the mental health of older adults in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, especially in developing countries, is still insufficient.Methods: This study investigates the relationship between POS use and the mental health status of elderly residents in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Tehran, the capital of Iran. The data on the frequency of use of public open spaces and the health status include ten items collected from 420 older adults of disadvantaged neighborhoods in District 10 of Tehran. We used exploratory factor analysis to explore the main factors of the elderly mental health in the disadvantaged neighborhood. Finally, the multivariate multiple regression model was used to determine the relationship between the frequency of POS use and mental health status among older seniors.Results: These ten items identified two fundamental characteristics of mental health status, including “feeling worthless” and “social interaction,” using exploratory factor analysis. “Feeling of worthlessness” was negatively significantly associated with the level of gender, marital, occupation, and education, as well as frequently attending in POS. “Social interaction” was influenced by gender, occupation, and marital status, as well as frequent use of POS. The results showed that the frequency of public open space use has a negative correlation with the feeling of worthlessness and a positive correlation with the older residents’ social interactions and contacts.Conclusion: According to the findings, increasing the more senior residents’ access to public open spaces through planning can improve their mental health as well as their social interactions, especially in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Background "Active Ageing" is an inclusive term thus has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review is to identify the aspects which play significant roles in building this concept in an ecological approach.Methods We searched seven online database s, JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Scopus, from 2002 to 2018 (from introducing this concept by WHO) for both qualitative and quantitative articles in only English language. Two reviewers independently found the related articles using the search terms “active ageing” and “built environment” and included both “ageing” and “aging”.Results Of 1337 records which passed the screening, 86 were eligible for the inclusion for the review purpose. A total of 15 themes were derived: Personal characteristic, Behavioral attitude, Land- use, Access, Physical form, Cityscape/City Image, Public open spaces, Housing, Social Environment, Cultural Environment, Economic Environment, Good Governance, Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social Health. Ecological themes of active ageing can be defined as the 5P model: Person, Processes, Place and Policy- Making based on the Prime aspect of health.Conclusions This study sheds light on the aspects of "Active Ageing" through ecological model while offering the significance of the multidimensional nature of active ageing micro (person), meso-(process) and macro-system (place and policy-making) based on health (prime) environments according to the relationships between person and environment at the individual, interpersonal and environmental levels for the future research and population ageing policies.

It was highlighted that the original article [1] contained a spelling mistake in the name of Hamid R. Baradaran. This was incorrectly captured as Bradaran. The original article has been updated.

Background "Active Ageing" is an inclusive term thus has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review is to identify the aspects which play significant roles in building this concept in an ecological approach.Methods We searched seven online database s, JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Scopus, from 2002 to 2018 (from introducing this concept by WHO) for both qualitative and quantitative articles in only English language. Two reviewers independently found the related articles using the search terms “active ageing” and “built environment” and included both “ageing” and “aging”.Results Of 1337 records which passed the screening, 86 were eligible for the inclusion for the review purpose. A total of 15 themes were derived: Personal characteristic, Behavioral attitude, Land- use, Access, Physical form, Cityscape/City Image, Public open spaces, Housing, Social Environment, Cultural Environment, Economic Environment, Good Governance, Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social Health. Ecological themes of active ageing can be defined as the 5P model: Person, Processes, Place and Policy- Making based on the Prime aspect of health.Conclusions This study sheds light on the aspects of "Active Ageing" through ecological model while offering the significance of the multidimensional nature of active ageing micro (person), meso-(process) and macro-system (place and policy-making) based on health (prime) environments according to the relationships between person and environment at the individual, interpersonal and environmental levels for the future research and population ageing policies.

Background "Active Ageing" is an inclusive term thus has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review is to identify the aspects which play significant roles in building this concept in an ecological approach.Methods We searched seven online database s, JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Scopus, from 2002 to 2018 (from introducing this concept by WHO) for both qualitative and quantitative articles in only English language. Two reviewers independently found the related articles using the search terms “active ageing” and “built environment” and included both “ageing” and “aging”.Results Of 1337 records which passed the screening, 86 were eligible for the inclusion for the review purpose. A total of 15 themes were derived: Personal characteristic, Behavioral attitude, Land- use, Access, Physical form, Cityscape/City Image, Public open spaces, Housing, Social Environment, Cultural Environment, Economic Environment, Good Governance, Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social Health. Ecological themes of active ageing can be defined as the 5P model: Person, Processes, Place and Policy- Making based on the Prime aspect of health.Conclusions This study sheds light on the aspects of "Active Ageing" through ecological model while offering the significance of the multidimensional nature of active ageing micro (person), meso-(process) and macro-system (place and policy-making) based on health (prime) environments according to the relationships between person and environment at the individual, interpersonal and environmental levels for the future research and population ageing policies.

Background: "Active aging" is an inclusive term and has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review was to identify those aspects that play significant roles in building this concept using an ecological approach. Methods: In this study, seven online databases, including JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, EBSCO, and Scopus, were searched from 2002 to 2018 for both qualitative and quantitative articles published in English. Two reviewers independently found the related articles using the search terms “active aging” and “built environment” and included both “ageing” and “aging”. Results: Of 1500 records which passed the screening stage, 92 were eligible for inclusion in the review. A total of 15 subthemes were derived: (1) personal characteristics, (2) behavioral attitude, (3) land use, (4) access, (5) physical form, (6) cityscape/city image, (7) public open spaces, (8) housing, (9) social environment, (10) cultural Environment, (11) economic environment, (12) good governance, (13) physical health, (14) mental health, and (15) social health. Ecological themes of active aging can be defined as the 5P model: person, processes, place, prime, and policymaking. Conclusions: The results of this study can shed light on different aspects of active aging. Also, the results emphasized the significance of the multidimensional nature of active aging, micro (person), meso (process), and macro systems (place and policymaking), based on health (prime) environments. Moreover, the results were based on the relationships between the person and the environment at the individual, interpersonal, and environmental levels, which can be used to conduct future studies and develop policies on aging populations.