Very old people’s use of the pedestrian environment: functional limitations, frequency of activity and environmental demands |
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Authors: | Pia Hovbrandt Agneta Ståhl Susanne Iwarsson Vibeke Horstmann Gunilla Carlsson |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Health Sciences, Division of Occupational Therapy and Gerontology, Lund University, Box 157, 221 00, Lund, Sweden 2. Department of Technology and Society, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Abstract: | Due to decreased functional capacity as well as high environmental demands there is a risk of diminishing activity outside
home in very old age (age 80+). In order to explore differences according to functional limitations (FL) among very old people
with respect to frequency of activity, perceived health, overall perception of neighbourhood environment, and perceived problems
in the pedestrian environment, data derived from a postal questionnaire survey to very old people living in an urban area
in Sweden were used. This explorative study is based on the sub-sample of people aged 80+ who reported outdoor activities
(n = 97). Four groups of respondents with different types of FL were identified: with no FL (n = 23), with only movement-related FL (n = 26), with only perception/cognition-related FL (n = 16), and with both movement- and perception/ cognition-related FL (n = 32). The majority of the respondents reported rather high frequency of activity outside home. When examining differences
between the four groups, the analysis indicated how the complexity of FL and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment
impacted on their activity performance. Persons with both movement- and perception/cognition-related FL were less satisfied
with their frequency of activity, experienced their health more negatively and experienced more problems in the pedestrian
environment than in the other groups. The findings from this study indicate the importance of considering combinations of
FL in creating supportive environments for activity and health. |
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Keywords: | Health promotion Neighbourhood Oldest old |
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