How different are objective operationalizations of walkability for older adults compared to the general population? A systematic review
Akinci, Zeynep Sila (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia)
Delclòs Alió, Xavier (Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Departament de Geografia)
Vich, Guillem (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia)
Salvo, Deborah (Washington University in St Louis. Prevention Research Center in St. Louis)
Ibarluzea, Jesús (Consorcio Español de Investigación en Epidemiología y Salud Pública)
Miralles-Guasch, Carme 1961- (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	Background. Walking is an essential activity for everyone and for older adults in particular, given that it is the most accessible form of physical activity and one of the healthiest transportation modes. Understanding how walkability (the potential of the environment to enable and/or encourage walking) has been objectively measured and analyzed for older adults is critical to create more inclusive, healthy, and sustainable environments and to promote healthy aging. Despite the numerous reviews on physical activity among older adults and its relationship with the built environment, the literature still lacks comparison reviews focusing specifically on objective operationalizations of walkability for older adults vs. the general population. Methods. We conducted a systematic review of 146 empirical studies that measured walkability objectively in relation to walking-related outcomes. We compared studies focused on older adults (n = 24) and the general population (n = 122). Content analysis included the characteristics of the study design, walkability measures, spatial extent, and associations found between walkability and walking-related outcomes. Results. In both groups of publications, the majority of studies were conducted in the US, Canada, and Europe, and largely in high-income countries. They were mostly published in health-related journals and used cross-sectional designs, operationalized walkability by using indexes, employed self-reported measures for walking-related outcomes, and found positive associations between walkability and walking outcomes. However, we observed some differences among studies focusing on older adults. Compared to studies focusing on the general population, a larger proportion of studies on older adults was conducted in the Middle East and Asia, and they used longitudinal designs, mixed methods to measure walking-related outcomes, variables related with land-use characteristics, safety from traffic and crime, and greenery, and a larger proportion found positive, as well as no associations between walkability and walking-related outcomes. Conclusion. Although there is a promising increase in interest in older adults-focused walkability studies in the last decade, there is still a need for more studies focusing on different settings, using wider spatial extents, longitudinal designs, objective or mixed methods to collect outcome data, and specific variables and/or specially created indexes for older adults and for settings.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-104344RB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2019/FI_B 00039 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación FJC2019-039725-I Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación FJC2019-041233-I Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2018-000806-S
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Walkability ; Older adults ; Walking ; Physical activity ; Systematic literature review ; Built environment
Published in:	BMC geriatrics, Vol. 22 (August 2022) , art. 673, ISSN 1471-2318

DOI: 10.1186/s12877-022-03233-x
PMID: 35971086

22 p, 1.9 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles