Built environment and loneliness in later life: productive engagement as the pathway
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.The built environment impacts older adults
Area Of Science
- Environmental gerontology
- Urban planning
- Geriatric health
Background
- The built environment is linked to late-life loneliness, but the specific pathways are not well understood.
- Investigating how urban design influences social engagement and well-being in older adults is crucial for public health.
- Understanding these connections can inform interventions to reduce social isolation in aging populations.
Purpose Of The Study
- To examine the mediating role of productive engagement in the relationship between the built environment and loneliness among older adults.
- To identify specific built environment features that influence social participation and subsequently affect loneliness.
- To explore these associations within a Chinese community-dwelling population aged 65 and above.
Main Methods
- Cross-sectional analysis of 4,409 community-dwelling older adults in China.
- Assessed loneliness using the Chinese version of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale.
- Evaluated built environment features (residential density, green space, services) and employed structural equation modeling within 300m and 500m buffer zones.
Main Results
- Green space (parks) directly reduced loneliness.
- Residential density and park green space indirectly reduced loneliness via volunteering.
- Number of recreational services indirectly reduced loneliness through social and sporting activities.
- Significant effects were observed within 300-meter buffers, not 500-meter buffers.
Conclusions
- Urban planning interventions focusing on green space and accessible recreational services can mitigate loneliness in older adults.
- Enhancing opportunities for volunteering and social/sporting activities through built environment design is key.
- Findings support environmental gerontology principles for promoting social connectedness and well-being in later life.
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