A Participatory Virtual Audit of the Built Environment for Age-Friendliness
Date
Authors
Curl, Angela
Watkins, Alison
Smithies, Amanda
Dares, Cushla
Pocock, Tessa
Williman, Jonathan
Todd, Verity
Dicker, Bridget
Keeling, Sally
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Geospatial studies that consider the relationships between the built environment and health typically rely on researcher-led 'objective' measurement of geospatial attributes of the built environment. Some studies can fail to find expected associations between environments and health outcomes where the geospatial measures do not reflect the experiences or perceptions of people themselves. We took a participatory approach to work with older adults with a concern for falling to assess the built environment in order that we could understand how their assessments relate to researcher assessments. We also wanted to assess whether specific demographic characteristics explained differences in assessments of the built environment between participants. Age-friendly environments can contribute to healthy active ageing. Falling and a fear of falling can lead to restricted outdoor activity. Therefore, understanding how the built environment contributes to fear of falling is important for age-friendly environments. METHODS: The study is a cross-sectional retrospective observational study of the built environment. We worked with older adults in workshop settings to undertake community audits of the built environment in Google Street View. They assessed locations where a fall had occurred. Researchers separately audited the same locations. We used descriptive statistics and ordinal regression cumulative link mixed models to estimate the odds that community members would rank a location one level higher than the researchers. RESULTS: There are significant differences in researcher and community auditor assessments of locations of attractiveness. Site related and individual attributes explain variation in how difficult locations were rated for walking, and for concern about falling. Only individual attributes explained variation in site attractiveness. Locations with more trip hazards and steeper slopes were rated as being more difficult to walk and were associated with greater concern for falling. CONCLUSIONS: Attributes of the built environment influence perceptions of difficulty walking and concern or falling at specific locations. Furthermore, there are some differences in how researchers and community auditors assess the same locations, meaning that geospatial studies which rely only on researcher assessments may be prone to bias. Involving older people in geospatial studies that measure age-friendly environments can make measurement more reflective of their experiences.Description
Keywords
Built environment, Older adults, Participatory methods, Pedestrian falls, Perceptions, 1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1604 Human Geography, Public Health, 4202 Epidemiology, 4203 Health services and systems, 4206 Public health
Source
Int J Health Geogr, ISSN: 1476-072X (Print); 1476-072X (Online), Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 24(1), 36-. doi: 10.1186/s12942-025-00422-w
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