Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan;33(1-2):101-113.
doi: 10.1177/0898264320960966. Epub 2020 Sep 22.

Neighborhood Participation Is Less Likely among Older Adults with Sidewalk Problems

Erica Twardzik  1   2 , Philippa Clarke  2   3 , Suzanne Judd  4 , Natalie Colabianchi  1   3
Affiliations

Neighborhood Participation Is Less Likely among Older Adults with Sidewalk Problems

Erica Twardzik et al. J Aging Health. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: This cross-sectional study examines the association between perceived sidewalk conditions and neighborhood participation among older adults in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Methods: Between 2013-2016, 14,233 REGARDS participants completed a second in-home visit. Using logistic regression, we cross-sectionally examined if perceived severity of sidewalk problems was associated with going into the neighborhood less than once compared to 1-7 times per week. Results: The analytic sample included participants (N = 9863) with nonmissing data. The likelihood of going into the neighborhood less than one time per week was greater among participants who reported minor (OR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.33), somewhat serious (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.70), and very serious (OR = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.38, 1.98) sidewalk problems in their neighborhood compared to those reporting no sidewalk problems, independent of demographic, socioeconomic, and impairment characteristics. Discussion: Perceived sidewalk problems appear to deter neighborhood participation among older adults.

Keywords: aging in place; built environment; neighborhood sidewalks; participation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of number of participants included and excluded from the analytic sample, and detailed reason for exclusion of participants. Note: REGARDS = REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Baker PS, Bodner EV, & Allman RM (2003). Measuring life-space mobility in community-dwelling older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc, 51(11), 1610–1614. - PubMed
    1. Baltes MM, Maas I, Wilms H-U, Borchelt M, & Little TD (1999). Everyday competence in old and very old age: Theoretical considerations and empirical findings. The Berlin aging study: Aging from, 70, 384–402.
    1. Barnett DW, Barnett A, Nathan A, Van Cauwenberg J, & Cerin E (2017). Built environmental correlates of older adults’ total physical activity and walking: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 14(1), 103. doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0558-z - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brenner AB, & Clarke PJ (2018). Understanding Socioenvironmental Contributors to Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Disability Among Older Americans. Res Aging, 40(2), 103–130. doi:10.1177/0164027516681165 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brown CJ, Roth DL, Allman RM, Sawyer P, Ritchie CS, & Roseman JM (2009). Trajectories of life-space mobility after hospitalization. Ann Intern Med, 150(6), 372–378. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types