Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T17:21:24.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Availability of activity-related resources in senior apartments: does it differ by neighbourhood socio-economic status?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2009

VERENA H. MENEC ,
DAWN M. VESELYUK ,
AUDREY A. BLANDFORD  and
SCOTT NOWICKI
VERENA H. MENEC*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
DAWN M. VESELYUK
Affiliation:
Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
AUDREY A. BLANDFORD
Affiliation:
Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
SCOTT NOWICKI
Affiliation:
Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
*
Address for correspondence: Verena Menec, Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, S112 Medical Services Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 0W3, Canada. E-mail: menec@cc.umanitoba.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Research has shown that the level of activity of the residents of a city's neighbourhood is related to the availability of activity-related resources. This study aimed to characterise the housing environment in which many older adults live by exploring what activity-related resources were available in senior apartment buildings in one Canadian city, Winnipeg. Of 195 senior apartment buildings in the city, 190 were surveyed to examine whether variation in the buildings' activity resources was related to neighbourhood characteristics, particularly socio-economic status. Resources were classified as those for physical activities (e.g. exercise classes), social activities (e.g. card games), and services (e.g. a grocery-store shuttle). The neighbourhood characteristics were taken from census data and included socio-economic and socio-demographic measures. The apartment buildings varied considerably in the resources available, and a positive relationship was found between neighbourhood income and physical and social activity programmes and services. Lower residential stability and a higher percentage of residents living alone were also related to the buildings' resource-richness, and senior apartment buildings with limited activity-related resources clustered in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. How senior apartments are resourced should be examined in relation to the neighbourhood in which they are located.

Keywords

environmenthousingactivity participationsocio-economic status
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , April 2009 , pp. 397 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Age and Opportunity 2003. Winnipeg Seniors Housing Directory. Age and Opportunity, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Available online at http://www.ageopportunity.mb.ca [Accessed 3 September 2005].Google Scholar
Age and Opportunity 2005. Winnipeg Seniors Housing Directory. Age and Opportunity, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Available online at http://www.ageopportunity.mb.ca [Accessed 14 December 2005].Google Scholar
Agresti, A. 1990. Categorical Data Analysis. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Bassuk, K. 1999. NORC supportive service programs: effective and innovative programs that support seniors living in the community. Care Management Journal, 1, 2, 132–7.Google Scholar
Berke, E. M., Koepsell, T. D., Moudon, A. V., Hoskins, R. E. and Larson, E. B. 2007. Association of the built environment with physical activity and obesity in older persons. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 3, 486–92.Google Scholar
Booth, M. L., Owen, N., Bauman, A., Clavisi, O. and Leslie, E. 2000. Social-cognitive and perceived environment influences associated with physical activity in older Australians. Preventive Medicine, 31, 1, 15–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brownson, R. C., Baker, E. A., Housemann, R. A., Brennan, L. K. and Bacek, S. J. 2001. Environment and policy determinants of physical activity in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 12, 1995–2003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carp, F. M. 1978–79. Effects of the living environment on activity and use of time. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 9, 1, 75–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centre on Aging 2005. Manitoba Fact Book on Aging. Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Available online at http://www.ageopportunity.mb.ca [Accessed 29 November 2007].Google Scholar
De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Sallis, J. F. and Saelens, B. E. 2003. Environmental correlates of physical activity in a sample of Belgian adults. American Journal of Health Promotion, 18, 1, 83–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diez Roux, A. V., Merkin, S. S., Arnett, D., Chambless, L., Massing, M., Nieto, F. J., Sorlie, P., Szklo, M., Tyroler, H. A. and Watson, R. L. 2001. Neighborhood of residence and incidence of coronary heart disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 345, 2, 99–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DiPietro, L. 2001. Physical activity in aging: changes in patterns and their relationship to health and function. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 56A (special issue II), M13–22.Google Scholar
Estabrooks, P. A., Lee, R. E. and Gyurcsik, N. C. 2003. Resources for physical activity participation: does availability and accessibility differ by neighborhood socioeconomic status? Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 2, 100–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fisher, K. J., Li, F., Michael, Y. and Cleveland, M. 2004. Neighborhood-level influences on physical activity among older adults: a multilevel analysis. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 12, 1, 45–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giles-Corti, B. and Donovan, R. J. 2002 a. The relative influence of individual, social and physical environment determinants of physical activity. Social Science and Medicine, 54, 12, 1793–812.Google Scholar
Giles-Corti, B. and Donovan, R. J. 2002 b. Socioeconomic status differences in recreational physical activity levels and real and perceived access to a supportive physical environment. Preventive Medicine, 35, 6, 601–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hillsdon, M., Panter, J., Foster, C. and Jones, A. 2007. Equitable access to exercise facilities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32, 6, 506–8.Google Scholar
Howe, J. L. 1999. Linkage House: a case study highlighting the challenges and opportunities in linking housing and programs for older adults. Care Management Journals, 1, 2, 138–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kavanagh, A. M., Goller, J. L., King, T., Jolley, D., Crawford, D. and Turrell, G. 2005. Urban area disadvantage and physical activity: a multilevel study in Melbourne, Australia. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 59, 11, 934–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, A. C., Toobert, D., Ahn, D., Resnicow, K., Coday, M., Riebe, D., Garber, C. E., Hurtz, S., Morton, J. and Sallis, J. F. 2006. Perceived environments as physical activity correlates and moderators of intervention in five studies. American Journal of Health Promotion, 21, 1, 24–35.Google Scholar
King, W. C., Brach, J. S., Belle, S., Killingsworth, R., Fenton, M. and Kriska, A. M. 2003. The relationship between convenience of destinations and walking levels in older women. American Journal of Health Promotion, 18, 1, 74–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, W. C., Belle, S. H., Brach, J. S., Simkin-Silvervan, L. R., Soska, T. and Kriska, A. M. 2005. Objective measures of neighbourhood environment and physical activity in older women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29, 31, 245–46.Google Scholar
Kruger, J., Carlson, S. A. and Buchner, D. 2007. How active are older Americans? Preventing Chronic Disease, 4, 3, A53.Google ScholarPubMed
Lawton, M. P. 1980. Environment and Aging. Brooks/Cole, Monterey, California.Google Scholar
McNeill, L. H., Wyrwich, K. W., Brownson, R. C., Clark, E. M. and Kreuter, M. W. 2006. Individual, social environmental, and physical environmental influences on physical activity among black and white adults: a structural equation analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 1, 36–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNickle, L. 2004. Keeping PACE with seniors' needs: health care meets housing in symbiotic partnerships. Journal of Housing and Community Development, 61, 6, 24–9.Google Scholar
Menec, V. H. 2003. The relation between everyday activities and successful aging: A 6 year longitudinal study. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B, 2, S574–82.Google Scholar
Menec, V. H., MacWilliam, L. and Aoki, F. Y. 2002. Hospitalizations and deaths due to respiratory illnesses during influenza seasons: a comparison of community residents, senior housing residents, and nursing home residents. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 57A, 10, M629–35.Google Scholar
Menec, V. H., Sirski, M. and Attawar, D. 2005. Does continuity of care matter in a universally insured population? Health Services Research, 40, 2, 389–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parks, S. E., Housemann, R. A. and Brownson, R. C. 2003. Differential correlates of physical activity in urban and rural adults of various socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 1, 29–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, M. 1993. A little help, a lot of independence. Health Progress, 74, 4, 43–5.Google ScholarPubMed
Pikora, T. J., Giles-Corti, B., Knuiman, M. W., Bull, F. C., Jamrozik, K. and Donovan, R. J. 2006. Neighborhood environmental factors correlated with walking near home: using SPACES. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38, 4, 708–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powell, L. M., Slater, S., Chaloupka, F. J. and Harper, D. 2006. Availability of physical activity-related facilities and neighbourhood demographic and socioeconomic characteristics: a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 96, 9, 1676–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rinehart, B. H. 2002. Senior housing: pathway to service utilization. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 39, 3, 57–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roos, N. P., Brownell, M. and Menec, V. H. 2006. Universal health care and inequalities in health: right objectives, wrong tools. In Heyman, J., Hertzman, C., Barer, M. and Evans, B. (eds), Healthier Societies: From Analysis to Action. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 107–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roos, N. P. and Mustard, C. A. 1997. Variation in health and health care use by socioeconomic status in Winnipeg, Canada: does the system work well? Yes and no. Milbank Quarterly, 75, 1, 89–111.Google Scholar
Sallis, J. F., Hovell, M. F., Hofstetter, C. R., Elder, J. P., Hackley, M., Caspersen, C. J. and Powell, K. E. 1990. Distance between homes and exercise facilities related to frequency of exercise among San Diego residents. Public Health Reports, 105, 2, 179–85.Google Scholar
Scharf, T., Phillipson, C. and Smith, A. E. 2005. Social exclusion of older adults in deprived urban communities of England. European Journal of Ageing, 2, 2, 76–87.Google Scholar
Shapiro, E. and Tate, R. 1988. Who is really at risk of institutionalization? The Gerontologist, 28, 2, 237–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherman, S. R. 1974. Leisure activities in retirement housing. Journal of Gerontology, 29, 3, 325–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spence, J. C., Plotnikoff, R. C., Rovniak, L. S., Martin Ginis, K. A., Rodgers, W. and Lear, S. A. 2006. Perceived neighbourhood correlates of walking among participants visiting the ‘Canada on the Move’ website. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 97 (supplement 1), S36–40.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada 2005. Leisure-time Physical Activity, by Age Group and Sex, Household Population aged 12 and over, Canada, Provinces, Territories, Health Regions (June 2005 boundaries) and Peer Groups, Every 2 years. CANSIM database, Statistics Canada, Ottawa. Available online at http://cansim2.statcan.ca/cgi-win/cnsmcgi.pgm?&Lang=E&ArrayId=1050433&Array_Pick=1&Detail=1&ResultTemplate=CII/CII___&RootDir=CII/ [Accessed 28 June 2007].Google Scholar
Subramanian, S. V., Kubzansky, L., Berkman, L., Fay, M. and Kawachi, I. 2006. Neighborhood effects on the self-rated health of elders: uncovering the relative importance of structural and service-related neighborhood environments. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 61B, 3, S153–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Lenthe, F. J., Brug, J. and Mackenbach, J. P. 2005. Neighbourhood inequalities in physical inactivity: the role of neighbourhood attractiveness, proximity to local facilities and safety in The Netherlands. Social Science and Medicine, 60, 4, 763–75.Google Scholar