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Gender and Transportation Access among Community-Dwelling Seniors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Josette Dupuis ,
Deborah R. Weiss  and
Christina Wolfson
Josette Dupuis
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies
Deborah R. Weiss
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology (DiCE), McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
Christina Wolfson*
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology (DiCE), McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Christina Wolfson, Division of Clinical Epidemiology (DiCE), McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), 1025 Pine Ave. West, Rm. P2.028, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1. (christina.wolfson@mcgill.ca)
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Abstract

Purpose: This study estimates the prevalence of problems with transportation in a sample of community-dwelling seniors residing in an urban setting and investigates the role that gender plays in the ability of seniors to remain mobile in their communities.

Design and Methods: Data collected as part of a study assessing the prevalence and consequences of unmet needs for community-based services in a random sample of 839 elderly aged 75 years and older were employed in bivariate and multivariable analyses.

Results: The prevalence of problems with transportation was 23 per cent, with 33 per cent of females and 10 per cent of males categorized as having problems with transportation. Of those subjects categorized as having problems with transportation, 88 per cent were women. In addition to being predominantly women, those who reported problems with transportation were older, in poorer health, and had lower income and income satisfaction.

Implications: Problems with transportation are an important issue facing seniors; women, in particular. These results highlight the differences in aging as experienced by women and men with respect to social effects, needs, and the significance attached to the experience.

Résumé

But: La présente étude évalue la prévalence des problèmes de transport chez un échantillon de personnes âgées résidant à domicile en milieu urbain et étudie le rôle que le sexe de la personne joue dans la capacité des aînés à maintenir leur mobilité dans la communauté.

Structure et méthode: Les données recueillies dans le cadre d'une étude évaluant la prévalence et les conséquences des besoins non comblés de services communautaires d'un échantillon tiré au hasard de 839 personnes âgées de 75 ans et plus ont fait l'objet d'analyses bidimensionnelles et multivariables.

Résultats: La prévalence des problèmes de transport s'élève à 23 pour cent; 33 pour cent des femmes et 10 pour cent des hommes affirmaient avoir des problèmes de transport. Du groupe de personnes confrontées à ces problèmes, 88 pour cent étaient de sexe féminin. En plus d'être en grande majorité des femmes, les personnes ayant des problèmes de transport étaient plus âgées et en moins bonne santé, disposaient d'un revenu moindre et manifestaient une moins grande satisfaction à cet égard.

Constatations: Les problèmes de transport sont une question importante à laquelle les personnes âgées doivent faire face, surtout les femmes. Ces résultats font ressortir que le processus de vieillissement est une expérience différente pour les hommes et pour les femmes par rapport aux effets sociaux, aux besoins et à l'importance que revêt l'expérience.

Keywords

agingelderlywomenhealth statusmobilitytransportationurbanvieillissementpersonne âgéefemmesétat de santémobilitétransportzone urbaine
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , Summer/Été 2007 , pp. 149 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2007

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Footnotes

*We would like to thank Louise Lévesque, John Podoba, Victor Addona, and Marie-Rose Shoucri for their important contributions to this research. We would also like to thank Abby Lippman for her insight into and advice on the preparation of the manuscript. Our thanks also to the interviewers for all their hard work and the participants, who generously gave of their time and who were a constant motivation to everyone involved in the study.This research took place within the framework of a larger study, called “Unmet Needs for Community-Based Services for the Elderly Aged 75 Years and Over” (L. Levesque, C. Wolfson, H. Bergman, F. Béland, & L. Trahan), which was funded by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ). Funding was also provided by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) for the 12-month follow-up component of the project (“Unmet Needs for Community-Based Services for the Elderly Aged 75 Years and Over: 12-Month Follow-Up” [C. Wolfson, L. Lévesque, H. Bergman, F. Béland, & J.E. Podoba]); and by the CIHR Interdisciplinary Research Team to increase the sample size of the study (“Longitudinal Study of the Frailty Process and of Unmet Needs in the community-dwelling elderly” [C. Wolfson, L. Lévesque, H. Bergman, F. Béland, L. Trahan, & J.E. Podoba]).

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