Journal article
Measurement Indicators of Age-Friendly Communities: Findings From the AARP Age-Friendly Community Survey
The Gerontologist, v 62(1), pp E17-E27
14 Jan 2022
PMID: 33909074
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Cities and counties worldwide have adopted the concept of "age-friendly communities." These communities aspire to promote older adults' well-being by providing a safe, affordable built environment and a social environment that encourages their participation. A major limitation in this field is the lack of valid and reliable measures that capture the complex dimensionality and dynamic nature of the aging-environment interface.
Research Design and Methods: This study uses data from the AARP 2016 Age-Friendly Community Surveys (N = 3,652 adults aged 65 and older). The survey includes 62 indicators of age-friendliness, for example, outdoor spaces, transportation, housing, social participation, and community and health services. We randomly split the sample into 2 equal subsamples for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Results: CFA results indicated that both the 5-factor model and the second-order factor model adequately fit the data. In the SEM 5-factor model, outdoor space (beta = 0.134; p = .017), social participation (beta = 0.307; p < .001), and community and health services (beta = -0.149; p = .008) were associated with self-rated health, the outcome of interest. The path coefficients of housing and transportation were not significant. In the second-order factor model, people who lived in more age-friendly communities reported better self-rated health (beta = 0.295; p < .001).
Discussion and Implications: Our findings show that the Age-Friendly Community Survey measures demonstrate reliability and concurrent validity. To promote older adults' well-being, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers should focus on improving their built and social environments. They can use these measures for short- and long-term planning, monitoring, and evaluating age-friendly community initiatives.
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Details
- Title
- Measurement Indicators of Age-Friendly Communities: Findings From the AARP Age-Friendly Community Survey
- Creators
- Kyeongmo Kim (Corresponding Author) - Virginia Commonwealth UniversityTommy Buckley - Virginia Commonwealth UniversityDenise Burnette - Virginia Commonwealth UniversitySeon Kim - Virginia Commonwealth UniversitySunghwan Cho - Virginia Commonwealth University
- Publication Details
- The Gerontologist, v 62(1), pp E17-E27
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Press
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000743896500002
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85123806960
- Other Identifier
- 991022004867104721
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InCites Highlights
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- Web of Science research areas
- Gerontology