Environmental Factors Associated with Older Adult’s Walking Behaviors: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies

Abstract

The aim of this study is to systematically review the relationship between neighborhood environments and all types of walking behaviors among older adults. Seventy peer-reviewed journal articles which met the selection criteria were examined. Research designs were summarized by geographical location and the associations of environmental characteristics and walking were calculated. Interactions between moderators and environmental characteristics for all types of walking were also categorized. Results have shown that transport walking is the most supported by neighborhood environmental characteristics. The positively related environmental characteristics are walkability, urbanization, land use mix-diversity and accessibility, walking amenities, and bicycle lanes. Total walking was positively associated with walkability and urbanization. Recreational walking was associated with neighborhood employment/income level, nearness to public transport/bus stops, and social cohesion. The most commonly used moderators were age and gender, but inconsistent moderating effects between neighborhood environments and walking were also found. In densely populated environments such as Hong Kong, older adults walked mostly for both transport and recreation. In contrast, American older adults in low density areas walked less for transport and more for recreation. Findings support a strong relationship between neighborhood environments and older adults’ walking. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies and comparison studies by geographic location.

Housing Choices of Older People: Staying or Moving in the Case of High Care Needs

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Objective environmental exposures correlate differently with recreational and transportation walking: A cross-sectional national study in the Netherlands

“…The effects of natural and built environments on walking also differ by walking purpose, which can be broadly classified into: recreational and transportation walking [5,6] Netherlands [37]. Following previous studies [38,39], we grouped a total of 37 land use types into five categories, namely: residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, and others.…”

“…More >=4-way crossings are indicative of a higher street connectivity, which promotes walking [5], while the opposite applies to…”

“…Evidence is mounting that walking in the residential surroundings is influenced not only by people's demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, and income), but also by the natural and built environments (green space, water bodies, air quality, etc.) [5][6][7]. Previous research showed that the availability of green space and water bodies is positively associated with people's walking behavior [8,9].…”

“…Results were also inconsistent for crossing density [17,18]. These inconsistencies can to a certain extent be attributed to, first, the difference between using perceived and objective measures [5]. While perceived measures were mainly derived from surveys or interviews, which were possibly affected by a recall bias, objective measures were obtained based on geographical information system (GIS) technologies.…”