1. How Age-Friendly Are Our Neighbourhoods
How Age-Friendly Are Our Neighbourhoods? Perspectives from older adults living in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester Sixsmith, J., Woolrych, R., Murray, M., Makita, M., Lawthom, R. and Fisher, J.
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The Research
Objective
Given the rapid growth of ageing populations in urban areas, creating environments that support and promote everyday social engagement and healthy living for older people is a key driver of public policy as well as academic research.
Our findings derived from a three-year ESRC-funded project (Place-Making with Older Adults: Towards Age Friendly Communities) taking place in 18 neighbourhoods across 6 cities in the UK and Brazil and capturing data on sense of place to enable age-friendly design.
UK study-sites neighbourhoods include: Craigmillar, Leith and Morningside in Edinburgh; Easterhouse, Govanhill, and Hyndland, Dowanhill & Partick in Glasgow; and Baguley, Didsbury, and Rusholme in Manchester.
To reveal older adults’ perspectives on making age-friendly communities and and how these can be incorporated into improved design and service delivery.
Method: Community-based Participatory Research
A community-based participatory research approach (CBPR) was adopted to capture sense of place data, linking with local community organisations to generate a sample of older people to take part in in-depth interviews (102), walk-along interviews (61), photo-diaries (29) and a survey (288) adapted from WHO age-friendly check list (WHO 2007), to explore older adults’ perceptions of age-friendliness in their neighbourhood.
Survey results
Sample: 288 participants, 124 male and 164 female, aged 60 to 85.
Statistical Analysis: MANOVA and ANOVA Univariate and Bonferroni tests.
The results show significant differences between the 3 cities in the scales of: Connectedness; Information availability and accessibility; Transport services and delivery (accessibility and safety; courtesy and respect); Housing options and supports; and Enabling health and social care.
The variable age was grouped into 3 groups: (135), (93) and 80 years and over (60). The results show that age group presents a higher significant score than group in the variables Sense of community, Community respect and recognition and Enabling health and social care.
City F η2
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Manchester
Connectedness
3,76a
(.50)
3,48b
(.66)
3,57
(.76)
F (2,285)= 4,614*
.031
Information availability and accessibility
3,83
(41)
3,99a
(40)
3,77b
(66)
F(2,285)= 4,7762**
.032
Accessibility and Safety
4,31
(.40)
4,33a
(.25)
4,20b
(.44)
F(2,285)= 3,605*
.025
Courtesy and Respect
4,94a
(.54)
4,73
(.73)
4,73b
(.77)
F(2,285)= 8,917***
.059
Housing options and supports
3,67b
(.55)
3,95a
(.56)
3,56b
(.57)
F(2,285)= 12,203***
.079
Enabling health and social care
3,77a
3,92a
(.43)
3,49b
(.84)
F(2,285)= 13,147***
.084
*** p < ** p < *p < Bonferroni= a ˃b
Qualitative findings
Interviews explored older adult’s sense of place through their everyday activities around the home and neighbourhood.
Preliminary analysis revealed older adults’ varying levels of satisfaction and concern with both social and built environment.
Participants shared particular concerns about accessing and using public transport, navigating shared public spaces and place maintenance; affordable and suitable housing; neighbourhood security and safety; and the effects of changes, gentrification and loss of community places in older adults’ sense of place, activities and routines.
Several participants gave accounts of the importance of having access to green spaces (e.g. gardens, parks, allotments).
Participants spoke of the significance of their home and their wish to remain in it for the rest of their lives.
Often participants offered recommendations for how to make a more age-friendly community: training programmes for bus drivers; offering alternatives to ‘internetisation’ of services; age-friendly supermarkets (e.g. suitable seating, light baskets/trolleys); linking up local schools with older adults; designing initiatives to support local shops.
Lack of crossing places:
“It’s a nightmare to cross here” (Female mid-60s married, Rusholme, Manchester)
“I’ve seen lots of people struggling and I can be one of them. If I’ve got two lots of shopping, if I’ve been doing my weekly shop, and I think that some buses seem to have a higher step than others. I don’t know why, but there’s a ramp, I’ve noticed most of them have this ramp and it’s not being used. So the drivers need to be more aware of how to help the public.” (Female 78 divorced, Partick, Glasgow).
Conclusion: Towards age friendly communities
Addressing what older people deem important to age in the right place is essential for developing age-friendly policies, programmes and interventions that support healthy and active ageing. Recommendations for the future delivery of age-friendly neighbourhoods are made.