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Therapeutic landscapes and wellbeing in later life: Impacts of blue and green spaces for older adults

This paper extends the concept of therapeutic landscapes by investigating how green and blue spaces affect older adult health and wellbeing. We draw on interview data from participants aged 65–86 years old who described their everyday experiences with green and especially blue spaces across Metro Vancouver, Canada. Landscapes embedded with therapeutic qualities included parks, gardens, street greenery, lakes, and the ocean. Interactions with these spaces influenced participants' perceived physical, mental, and social health. Issues of safety, accessibility, and personal perception complicated this relationship. Overall, the findings indicate that nature plays a nuanced and influential role in the everyday lives of older adults. Better understanding how older adults experience health and landscape is critical towards developing everyday contact with nature that can improve quality of life for ageing populations.     

Association between hilliness and walking speed in community-dwelling older Japanese adults: A cross-sectional study

PurposeThis cross-sectional study investigated the association between hilliness and walking speed in community-dwelling older adults, and whether it varied according to their car-driving status.MethodsData were collected from 590 participants aged 65 and older living in Okinoshima Town, Shimane prefecture, Japan, in 2018. Comfortable walking speed (m/s) was objectively assessed. Hilliness was measured by the mean land slope (degree) within a 500-m or 1000-m network buffer around each participant's home using a geographic information system. A multiple linear regression examined whether the land slope was associated with walking speed, adjusted for sex, age, body mass index, smoking habits, alcohol consumption habits, exercise habits, chronic disease, and living arrangements. A stratified analysis by car-driving status was also conducted.ResultsAfter adjusting for all confounders, the land slope within the 500-m or 1000-m network buffer was negatively associated with walking speed (B = -0.007, 95% CI [-0.011, -0.002]; B = -0.007, 95% CI [-0.011, -0.003], respectively). The stratified analysis by car-driving status showed that living in a hilly area was negatively associated with walking speed among non-drivers in the 500-m or 1000-m network buffer (B = -0.011, 95% CI [-0.017, -0.004]; B = -0.012, 95% CI [-0.019, -0.006]), though there were no associations among drivers.ConclusionsA hilly environment is positively associated with slow walking speed in community-dwelling older adults in Japan. Moreover, car-driving status potentially modifies the relationship between living in a hilly environment and slow walking speed.     

Acquiring visual information for locomotion by older adults: A systematic review

Developments in technology have facilitated quantitative examination of gaze behavior in relation to locomotion. The objective of this systematic review is to provide a critical evaluation of available evidence and to explore the role of gaze behavior among older adults during different forms of locomotion. Database searches were conducted to identify research papers that met the inclusion criteria of (1) study variables that included direct measurement of gaze and at least one form of locomotion, (2) participants who were older adults aged 60 years and above, and (3) reporting original research. Twenty-five papers related to walking on a straight path and turning (n = 4), stair navigation (n = 3), target negotiation and obstacle circumvention (n = 13) and perturbation-evoked sudden loss of balance (n = 5) were identified for the final quality assessment. The reviewed articles were found to have acceptable quality, with scores ranging from 47.06% to 94.12%. Overall, the current literature suggests that differences in gaze behavior during locomotion appear to change in late adulthood, especially with respect to transfer of gaze to and from a target, saccade-step latency, fixation durations on targets and viewing patterns. These changes appear to be particularly pronounced for older adults with high risk of falling and impaired executive functioning.     

Association between single limb standing test results and healthcare costs among community-dwelling older adults

Background and objectiveIdentifying risks for older adults who will require healthcare resources is critical for the government, healthcare providers, and consumers. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the results of the single limb standing (SLS) test and healthcare costs among community-dwelling older adults.MethodsWe used data obtained from a population-based prospective cohort study of the residents of Tadami town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The participants were above 60 years of age and had undergone annual health check-ups, and data on their healthcare costs over the two-year study period were available. A censored regression model adjusted for potential confounders was used to estimate the mean difference in total healthcare costs between participants who could remain standing on a single limb for at least 30 s and those who could not.ResultsHealthcare costs of participants who passed the SLS test were significantly lower than those who did not. The mean difference between the two groups’ healthcare costs was 4064 USD (95 % confidence interval: 2661–5467 USD, p < 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, the mean difference between the two groups was smaller (1686 USD) but remained statistically significant (95 % confidence interval: 125–3246 USD, p < 0.05).ConclusionsAmong community-dwelling older adults, limited static balance (SLS time <30 s) was found to be associated with high healthcare costs in the two years after the SLS test. The SLS test may help identify individuals at high risk of becoming frequent users of healthcare services in the future.     

Wellbeing,resilience, and coping: Are there differences between healthy older adults,adults with mild cognitive impairment,and adults with Alzheimer-type dementia?

The changes that occur with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease could affect psychological aspects unrelated to memory. The purpose of this study is to compare 32 healthy older adults, 31 amnestic mild cognitively impaired (aMCI) adults, and 32 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD), in order to determine whether there are differences in their psychological wellbeing, resilience, and coping strategies. Unifactorial MANOVAS and ANOVAS were performed to analyze the between-group differences. The results reveal that the AD group showed lower levels of resilience and orientation toward problem-solving and greater use of religious strategies. In addition, they had significantly lower wellbeing scores than the other groups. The worsening of the pathology impedes the capacity for adaptation and resilience and the application of strategies oriented toward the problem, and it increases the application of strategies based on magical thinking. Moreover, it also produces a reduction in wellbeing.