How Is the Neighborhood Environment Related to the Health of Seniors Living in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo? Some Insights for Promoting Aging in Place

Abstract

Aging in place can be a challenge for seniors living in cities, where the infrastructure and associated services are typically designed for the working population to enhance efficiency and productivity.Through surveying community-dwelling seniors, we ask these research questions: How is the neighborhood environment related to the physical and mental health of seniors living in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo? How can we make cities more age-friendly to encourage aging in place? To answer these research questions, both observational and questionnaire surveys are used. Characteristics of the local neighborhood are captured by individual-based and general local characteristics. Multilevel analysis is used to disentangle the effects of factors operating at different spatial scales. A total of 687 seniors aged sixty-five and older living in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo in eleven residential neighborhood districts were recruited through local senior community centers. Based on the final models, 17.53 percent and 8.24 percent of the variance in the physical and mental health scores is across general neighborhoods, respectively, and the remaining is at the individual level, including individual-based neighborhood factors. Biological factors are not the most important. Instead, having a normal range of weight and the proper use of a walking aid can allow seniors, even of the oldest-old group of eighty-five and older, to be more active. Policy-wise, neighborhood factors should be carefully planned to promote seniors' health directly through enhancing walkability and fostering supportive peer groups and indirectly through encouraging a more active lifestyle. Promoting a walkable urban environment should be a priority area for supporting aging in place in cities.