1. WC2 Health Club
Ageing in Urban Environments

2. The WC2 Health Club

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Health Club hard at work

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

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

8. 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

9. Still hard at work

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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)

13. 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

14. much harder at work!

15. 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)

16. 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

17. Thank you for listening!