Aspects of social participation and neighborhood perception

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of the physical and social surroundings of the neighborhood, which are presented as facilitators or barriers for the social participation of Brazilian older adults.METHODS The study was conducted in a probabilistic representative sample of the Brazilian population aged 50 years and older and who lived in urban areas (n = 7,935). The response variable was social participation, which was defined from two questions about activities performed with other persons: visited friends or relatives in their homes in the last 12 months (yes, no); went out with other persons to public places, such as restaurant, movies, club, park, in the last 12 months (yes, no). The explanatory variables included fear of falling because of defects in sidewalks, concern about the difficulty to get on a bus, subway, or train, difficulty to cross streets, and perception of violence in the neighborhood. Potential confounding variables included age, marital status, education level, self-rated health, living in an asphalted or paved street, time living in the municipality, and socioeconomic position score. Prevalence ratios and respective confidence intervals were estimated using Poisson regression.RESULT Difficulty to cross streets presented an independent association with restricted social participation (PR = 0.95; 95%CI 0.93–0.98) among both women (PR = 0.96; 95%CI 0.92–0.99) and men (PR = 0.94; 95%CI 0.90–0.99). Concern about the difficulty to get on a bus, subway, or train was associated with the outcome only among men (PR = 0.95; 95%CI 0.91–0.99). The fear of falling because of defects in sidewalks and the perception of violence in the neighborhood were not associated with social participation.CONCLUSIONS Urban characteristics that hinder the crossing of streets and accessibility to public transport can be inferred as important barriers for the social participation of Brazilian older adults.

Social participation and self-assessment of health status among older people in Brazil

“…Around a quarter of the elderly people mentioned that they participated in community ac-tivities and those that participated these activities were more likely to provide a positive assessment of their overall health status than those who were unexposed to these activities. In concordance with the results of other studies, the present study observed important differences in the individual and contextual socioeconomic, demographic, and health characteristics of older people who participate in community activities and those who do not 3,6,8,9,12,14,18,19,35 , suggesting common characteristics associated with this practice. In general, it was observed that unexposed older people had worse socioeconomic conditions, depended more on public transport and health services, and lived in settings associated with greater material deprivation and social infrastructure.…”

“…The prevalence varied from 23.3% and 89.0% depending on the type of activity, but it only differed statistically between the sexes in participation in religious activity (p<0.001), between age groups no differences 14 . Lastly, study conducted in a representative sample of the Brazilian population aged 50 years and older and who lived in urban areas (n=7,935) observed prevalence of social participation 81.8% for women and 82.0% for men 35 .…”

“…In general, it was observed that unexposed older people had worse socioeconomic conditions, depended more on public transport and health services, and lived in settings associated with greater material deprivation and social infrastructure. Studies show that older people who are more vulnerable from socioeconomic and health point of view are more likely to live in areas where the access to such services and opportunities is irregular and precarious 9,12,13,35,36 . Furthermore, cumulative disadvantage over the life course can hinder adhesion to or maintenance of social participation in community activities in old age 6,11 .…”

Arranjos de Moradia de Idosos: Associação com Indicadores Sociodemográficos e de Saúde

“…Com o aumento da população idosa, as características dos arranjos de moradia e a constituição familiar têm sofrido importantes mudanças, tanto em sua estrutura como na dinâmica das relações que compõem esses arranjos (Ferreira, 2017). Essas mudanças influenciam de maneira expressiva a maneira como as pessoas envelhecem e a prestação de cuidados e serviços de saúde aos idosos no âmbito familiar (Del Duca, Martinez, & Bastos, 2012;Faleiros et al, 2015;Giacomin, Duarte, Camarano, Nunes, & Fernandes, 2018).…”

Aging and public health

“…Inequalities are observed in physical activity 7 , oral health status 8 , limitations to perform basic activities of daily living 9 , frailty 10 , adequate control of hypertension 11 , underutilization of medications due to financial reasons 12 , source of health care 13 , and capacity to work 14 . Social participation 15 and the fear of falling 16 are associated with the urban environment. Perceived quality of life is associated with sociability and emotional and instrumental support 17 .…”