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Age-Friendly Communities and Older Adults' Health in the United States
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Age-Friendly Communities and Older Adults' Health in the United States

Kyeongmo Kim, Thomas D. Buckley, Denise Burnette, Jin Huang and Seon Kim
International journal of environmental research and public health, v 19(15), 9292
29 Jul 2022
PMID: 35954648
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159292View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Science & Technology
As age-friendly community (AFC) initiatives grow, it will be essential to determine whether older adults who live in an AFC have better health than those who live in other environments. This study uses data from the 2017 AARP AFC Surveys and the AARP Livability Index to assess whether AFCs promote the health of older adults. We analyze data for 3027 adults aged 65 and older who reside in 262 zip code areas. Following AARP guidelines, we allocated the sample into two groups: an AFC group (livability score of 51+; n = 2364) and a non-AFC (score <= 50, n = 663). The outcome variable was self-rated health (M = 3.5; SD = 1.1; range: 1-5). We used an inverse probability weighting approach to evaluate whether older adults who live in an AFC reported better self-rated health than those who live in a non-AFC. Findings showed that older adults who lived in an AFC had better self-rated health than those in a non-AFC (b = 0.08, p = 0.027). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Black and Hispanic older adults reported worse self-rated health. Inasmuch as living in an AFC can promote the well-being of older adults, policymakers and practitioners should continue to develop and sustain high-quality, accessible built and social environments.

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12 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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