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Psyc A326: Environmental Psychology
SUMMER 2020
DR. E. L. ZUCKER
SAMPLE LITERATURE SUMMARY
Associations Between Neighborhood Open Space Attributes and Quality of Life for Older People in Britain
Study done by Sugiyama et al. (2007)
Existing literature suggests that neighborhood open space (NOS) may play an important role for older people in maintaining and enhancing their quality of life (QOL)
However, very few studies have focused on NOS and QOL in the context of late life
This study explored what aspects of NOS are associated with health, life satisfaction, and outdoor activity for older people
Quality of Life - the Construct
Involves multiple dimensions
Has been argued that it has two major components:
Health
Life Satisfaction
Neighborhood open space (NOS), such as local parks, play areas, and village greens, may play an important role in the maintenance of these aspects.
Participation in regular physical activity is also an important component of a good QOL for older people
Research Methods
Three strategies were employed to obtain a diverse sample of older people who represented a wide range of experiences
Strategy 1: Questionnaire was mailed directly to 1,818 people sampled from 20 local authorities in 12 regions covering Britain. The names and addresses of people aged 65 years or older, randomly sampled from these councils, were purchased from a market research company.
Strategy 2: Targeted those less likely to respond to first sample, that is, those likely to have difficulties in getting outdoors, primarily individuals living in sheltered accommodations .
Strategy 3: Third sample consisted of people from minority ethnic backgrounds that constitute about 8% of the U.K. population
Measurements and Instruments
Health and life satisfaction, constituents of QOL, were the outcome variables for the study
Participants’ health status was measured as the number of days in the last 30 days in which poor physical and/or mental health prevented them from carrying out daily activities
A 5-item Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was employed to measure life satisfaction
Measurements and Instruments (continued)
Independent variables of the study were the attributes of NOS
A scale to measure the quality of NOS was constructed by consulting with eight focus group interviews conducted earlier in the experiment process
Data Analysis
The total sample size in the present study was 271.
A series of logistic regression analyses were performed to examine associations between the outcome variables and NOS attributes
The first regression analysis was to account for health status using the identified NOS attributes and distance to NOS
Outcome for the second regression model was life satisfaction
The third analysis was to predict the odds of being a high-level walker
Results
Study consisted of about 60% women. Mean age of the sample was 75 years.
Participants reported an average of 6 unhealthy days in the last 30 days
Mean life satisfaction score was 3.5 in the range between 1 and 5
The mean time spent in walking was 24 min/day
About 45% of the respondents lived within a 10-minute walking distance of a nearby open space
Results (continued)
Regression analysis shows that all the NOS attributes, including the distance to NOS, were significantly associated with health status, life satisfaction, and time spent walking
Also indicates that functional capability was significantly associated with all the other variables except for pleasance of NOS
Discussion
Analysis showed that some characteristics of NOS are associated with participants’ QOL and their walking, after controlling for their age, functional status, and educational attainment.
It was found that different attributes of NOS were associated with different outcome measures
Findings suggest that functional capability is a confounding factor associated both with perceptions of NOS and with participant’s health status
Discussion (continued)
The attributes of NOS found to be relevant to older people’s life satisfaction were pleasantness, safety in and around the open space, and distance to it.
Findings suggest that older people who have pleasant and safe NOS within a comfortable walking distance are more likely to be satisfied with life than those who have no such spaces within a walking distance.
Reference
Sugiyama, T., & Thompson, C. W. (2007). Outdoor environments, activity and the well-being of older people: Conceptualising environmental support. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 39, 1943 – 1960. https://doi.org/10.1068/a38226
