WC2 Health Club Ageing in Urban Environments

The WC2 Health Club

Health Club: Who are we? WC2 Berlin Health Club 27 - students (14) and academics (13) from 4 institutions: Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM) Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPolyU) City University London (CUL) We are looking to include colleagues from: CUNY, Ryerson, USP, Wits, Meiji, TUB, Milano

Ageing in Urban Environments WC2 Berlin Health Club Health Club Theme: Ageing in Urban Environments Comparing census data from our different regions focusing on similarities / differences across cities and the implications of poverty, education, city environments and other variables on ageing and health Sharing our experiences in piloting the “PolyU Healthy City Survey” and more generally the usefulness and applicability of quality of life surveys in different regions.

Health Club hard at work

Average Life Expectancy By Gender WC2 Berlin Health Club Average Life Expectancy By Gender

Suicide rates per 100,000 population WC2 Berlin Health Club Suicide rates per 100,000 population

Top 5 Causes of Death by City WC2 Berlin Health Club Top 5 Causes of Death by City London St Petersburg Hong Kong Macau Mexico City 1 Ischaemic Heart Diseases Ischaemic Heart Disease Malignant Neoplasms 2 Pneumonia Diabetes 3 Chronic lower respiratory diseases Deaths from external Causes Ischaemic Heart Diseases Malignant Neoplasms 4 Cerebrovascular diseases Infectious and parasitic diseases Cerebrovascular Diseases Hypertension Cerebrovascular disease 5 Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease Other causes

Still hard at work

Indicators of a Healthy City WC2 Berlin Health Club WC2 Berlin Health Club Indicators of a Healthy City Resident’s quality of life Satisfactory level on environment Open space Transportation and social services Healthcare services Physical activity level Views on features and facilities needed to improve the greening Health and socio demographics profiles The following information on the Quality of Life Questionnaire has been produced by The Green Deck Research Team, from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong King, one of the members of the WC2 network. WHO has suggested guidelines for conducting a community diagnosis. Health and social indicators like health status, lifestyles, living environment, public health services and family and community relationship are suggested (1, 2) (Table 1). Depending on the interests and study foci, these indicators can be adjusted accordingly to meet the objectives of the study.

Healthy City Survey WC2 Berlin Health Club WC2 Berlin Health Club We have piloted this survey on 94 participants across different cities: Hong Kong (n=15) Macau (n=10) London (n= 29) Cambridge (n=5) St. Petersburg (n=35) Age : Mainly over 65

Healthy City Survey WC2 Berlin Health Club Critical assessment of and reflections on the applicability of the Healthy City Survey across regions for future study. Cross cultural challenges: Differences in social policies such as retirement age, health care service or transportation will alter the survey items Different interpretation of questions might affect the applicability and the sensitivity of responses (e.g. air quality)

Healthy City Survey WC2 Berlin Health Club Rapport during the interview regarding personal questions might impact on reliability (e.g. alcohol consumption and sex life- satisfaction) Survey duration and time Order of the questions

much harder at work!

Main themes emerging from discussions WC2 Berlin Health Club Main themes emerging from discussions Suicide (gender differences, different methods of suicide by gender – complete and incomplete) – focus on 65+, (comparison between young, young old and older old) Social isolation in older people Financial impact of ageing (pensions etc.) Caring for older people (perception of the elderly, age friendliness of cities) Relationship between rates of diabetes and dementia (cause of death)

Main themes emerging from discussions WC2 Berlin Health Club Main themes emerging from discussions Tools of and methodology in measuring Quality of Life in older people Social care policy contributing to the well being and happiness of older people Life expectancy / healthy life expectancy / lifestyle as a function of education Variation in health outcomes of the older relative to younger people across cities Importance of international comparisons through collaborative work

Thank you for listening!