Built environment and mobility of older adults: Important policy and practice efforts

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Volumn 60, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 951-956

  Yen, Irene H ^a   Anderson, Lynda A ^b,c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^b NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION   (United States)

^c EMORY UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

healthy aging; mobility; neighborhood; public policy

Indexed keywords

AGED; ARTICLE; CHILDHOOD OBESITY; CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK; DIABETES MELLITUS; DISABILITY; EMOTIONAL STABILITY; GERIATRIC CARE; HEALTH CARE PLANNING; HEALTH CARE POLICY; HUMAN; MENTAL HEALTH; PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY; PHYSICAL DISEASE; PHYSICAL MOBILITY; POLICY; POLITICS; UNITED KINGDOM; WALKING; WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION;

AGED; AGED, 80 AND OVER; ARCHITECTURAL ACCESSIBILITY; HUMANS; PUBLIC POLICY; UNITED STATES; WALKING;

EID: 84861234876     PISSN: 00028614     EISSN: 15325415     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.03949.x     Document Type: Article

References (48)

1. McCarthy L, Kim S,. The Aging Baby Boomers: Current and Future Metropolitan Distribution and Housing Policy Implications. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 2005.
2. Golant S,. Aging in the American Suburbs: A Changing Population. Aging Well; 2005 [on-line]. Available at Accessed August 22, 2011.
3. U.S. Census Bureau. Projections of the Population by Age and Sex for the United States: 2010 to 2050 (Table 12); 2008. Available at Accessed August 22, 2011.
4. Heath GW, Brownson RC, Kruger JJ, et al. The effectiveness of urban design and land use and transport policies and practices to increase physical activity: A systematic review. J Phys Act Health 2006; 3: S55-S76.
5. Kahn LK, Sobush K, Keener D, et al. Recommended community strategies and measurements to prevent obesity in the United States. MMWR Recomm Rep 2009; 58: 1-26.
6. Yen IH, Michael YL, Perdue L,. Neighborhood environment in studies of health of older adults: A systematic review. Am J Prev Med 2009; 37: 455-463.
7. Chodzko-Zajko W, Proctor D, Singh F, et al. Exercise and physical activity for older adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009; 41: 1510-1530.
8. McPhillips JB, Pellettera KM, Barrett-Connor E, et al. Exercise patterns in a population of older adults. Am J Prev Med 1989; 5: 65-72.
9. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts: Older Population (DOT HS 811 391). Washington, DC: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2009 [on-line]. Available at www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/ Pubs/811391.pdf Accessed December 14, 2011.
10. Pucher J, Dijkstra L,. Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany. Am J Public Health 2003; 93: 1509-1516.
11. Oxley J, Fildes BN, Dewar RE,. Safety of Older Pedestrians. Technical Papers and Reports from a Conference, Bethesda, MD, November 7-9, 1999. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, 2004.
12. Stollof ER, McGee H, Eccles KA,. Pedestrian Signal Safety for the Older Persons. Washington, DC: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2007.
13. Fisher KJ, Li F, Michael Y, et al. Neighborhood-level influences on physical activity among older adults: A multilevel analysis. J Aging Phys Act 2004; 12: 45-63.
14. Mendes de Leon CF, Cagney KA, Bienias JL, et al. Neighborhood social cohesion and disorder in relation to walking in community-dwelling older adults: A multilevel analysis. J Aging Health 2009; 21: 155-171.
15. Rosso AL, Auchincloss AH, Michael YL,. The urban built environment and mobility in older adults: A comprehensive review. J Aging Res 2011; 2011: 816106.
16. Michael Y, Beard T, Choi D, et al. Measuring the influence of built neighborhood environments on walking in older adults. J Aging Phys Act 2006; 14: 302-312.
17. Herbel SB, Rosenbloom S, Stutts J, et al. The Impact of an Aging Population on Systems Planning and Investment Policies: NCHRP 8-36: Task 50: Final Report. Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 2006.
18. Pisarski AE,. Commuting in America III: The Third National Report on Commuting Patterns and Trends. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, 2006.
19. Transportation Research Board. Transportation in an Aging Society: A Decade of Experience. Technical papers and reports from a conference: Bethesda, Maryland. November 7-9, 1999. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, 2004. Available at Accessed August 22, 2011.
20. Keyes L, Rader C, Berger C,. Creating communities: Atlanta's Lifelong Community Initiative. Phys Occup Ther Geriatr 2011; 29: 59-74.
21. Lynott J, McAuley WJ, McCutcheon M,. Getting out and about: The relationship between urban form and senior travel patterns. J Housing Elderly 2009; 23: 390-402.
22. Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young. Infrastructure 2011: A Strategic Priority. Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute, 2011.
23. Northridge ME, Sclar ED, Biswas P,. Sorting out the connections between the built environment and health: A conceptual framework for navigating pathways and planning healthy cities. J Urban Health 2003; 80: 556-568.
24. Lynott J, Taylor A, Twaddell H, et al. Planning Complete Streets for an Aging America. Washington, DC: AARP Public Policy Institute, 2009.
25. Emerson CD, All Sprawled Out: How the Federal Regulatory System has Driven Unsustainable Growth. (August 12, 2007) [on-line]. Available at Accessed December 14, 2011.
26. Yen IH, Shim JK, Martinez AD, et al. Older people and social connectedness: How place and activities keep people engaged. J Aging Res 2012; 2012: 139523.
27. Yen IH, Yelin E, Katz P, et al. Impact of perceived neighborhood problems on change in asthma-related health outcomes between baseline and follow-up. Health Place 2008; 14: 468-477.
28. Yen IH, Kaplan GA,. Neighborhood social environment and 11-year risk of death: Multilevel evidence from the Alameda County Study. Am J Epidemiol 1999; 149: 898-907.
29. National Complete Streets Coalition. Let's Complete America's Streets [on-line]. Available at Accessed August 19, 2011.
30. Pawson R,. Evidence-based policy: The promise of "realist synthesis." Evaluation 2002; 8: 340-358.
31. Connelly JB, Duaso MJ, Butler G,. A systematic review of controlled trials of interventions to prevent childhood obesity and overweight: A realistic synthesis of the evidence. Public Health 2007; 121: 510-517.
32. Jackson L, Langille L, Lyons R, et al. Does moving from a high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhood improve mental health? A realist review of "Moving to Opportunity." Health Place 2009; 15: 961-970.
33. O'Campo P, Kirst M, Schaefer-McDaniel N, et al. Community-based services for homeless adults experiencing concurrent mental health and substance use disorders: A realist approach to synthesizing evidence. J Urban Health 2006; 86: 965-989.
34. Dieleman M, Kan S, Zwanikken P, et al. Realist Review and Synthesis of Retention Studies for Health Workers in Rural and Remote Areas: Technical Report No. 1. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2011.
35. Hogue CC,. Falls and mobility in late life: An ecological model. J Am Geriatr Soc 1984; 32: 858-861.
36. World Health Organization. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001.
37. Schmid TL, Pratt M, Howze E,. Policy as intervention: Environmental and policy approaches to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Am J Public Health 1995; 85: 1207-1211.
38. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Prevention Strategy. Washington, DC: National Prevention Council [on-line]. Available at Accessed August 19, 2011.
39. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2020. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [on-line]. Available at Accessed August 19, 2011.
40. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Guide to Community Preventive Services [on-line]. Available at Accessed August 19, 2011.
41. National Research Council. Leading Health Indicators for Healthy People 2010: First Interim Report. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine, The National Academies, 1998.
42. Belza B, Walwick J, Shiu-Thornton S, et al. Older adult perspectives on physical activity and exercise: Voices from multiple cultures. Prev Chronic Dis 2004; 1: A09.
43. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Promoting Physical Activity: Environmental and Policy Approaches [on-line]. Available at Accessed August 19, 2011.
44. The Healthy Aging Research Network Writing Group. The Prevention Research Centers Healthy Aging Research Network. Prev Chronic Dis 2006; 3 Available at Accessed August 22, 2011.
45. McLeroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, et al. An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Educ Q 1998; 15: 351-377.
46. Kealey M, Kruger J, Hunter R, et al. Engaging older adults to be more active where they live: Audit tool development [abstract]. Prev Chronic Dis 2005; 2. Available at Accessed August 22, 2011.
47. Satariano WA, Ivey SL, Kurtovich E, et al. Lower-body function, neighborhoods, and walking in an older population. Am J Prev Med 2010; 38: 419-428.
48. Healthy Aging Research Network. Environmental and Policy Change for Healthy Aging [on-line] Available at Accessed August 22, 2011.