Environmental factors influencing older adults’ walking for transportation: a study using walk-along interviews

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Benedicte Deforche³  Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij³  Jo Salmon⁵  Jack Nasar⁴  Liesbet Goubert¹  Peter Clarys²  Riet Deridder²  Dorien Simons²  Veerle Van Holle³  Jelle Van Cauwenberg³ 

[1] Department of Experimental – Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Henry Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium;Department of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium;Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium;City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University, 230 Knowlton Hall, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA;School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood Highway 221, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

关键词: Walk-along interviews;    Qualitative study;    Older adults;    Walking for transportation;    Physical activity;    Physical environment;   

Others  :  824690
DOI  :  10.1186/1479-5868-9-85

 received in 2011-09-26, accepted in 2012-06-28,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Current knowledge on the relationship between the physical environment and walking for transportation among older adults (≥ 65 years) is limited. Qualitative research can provide valuable information and inform further research. However, qualitative studies are scarce and fail to include neighborhood outings necessary to study participants’ experiences and perceptions while interacting with and interpreting the local social and physical environment. The current study sought to uncover the perceived environmental influences on Flemish older adults’ walking for transportation. To get detailed and context-sensitive environmental information, it used walk-along interviews.

Methods

Purposeful convenience sampling was used to recruit 57 older adults residing in urban or semi-urban areas. Walk-along interviews to and from a destination (e.g. a shop) located within a 15 minutes’ walk from the participants’ home were conducted. Content analysis was performed using NVivo 9 software (QSR International). An inductive approach was used to derive categories and subcategories from the data.

Results

Data were categorized in the following categories and subcategories: access to facilities (shops & services, public transit, connectivity), walking facilities (sidewalk quality, crossings, legibility, benches), traffic safety (busy traffic, behavior of other road users), familiarity, safety from crime (physical factors, other persons), social contacts, aesthetics (buildings, natural elements, noise & smell, openness, decay) and weather.

Conclusions

The findings indicate that to promote walking for transportation a neighborhood should provide good access to shops and services, well-maintained walking facilities, aesthetically appealing places, streets with little traffic and places for social interaction. In addition, the neighborhood environment should evoke feelings of familiarity and safety from crime. Future quantitative studies should investigate if (changes in) these environmental factors relate to (changes in) older adults’ walking for transportation.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Van Cauwenberg et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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