Aging and the built environment: is mobility constrained for institutionalized older adults?

Abstract

This article analyzes the relation between the location and the surrounding built environment of residential care facilities for older adults and their users’ mobility. For this, interviews were carried out in 14 residential care facilities in Portugal to understand the degree to which users leave the facilities walking, and what their main motivation and perceived barriers are. In locu observations to assess the walkability of the surrounding environment and to map the services and amenities at a 400 m and 800 m radius were also conducted. It was found that many older adults leave the facilities on foot and that their main motivation to do so was to access a specific service. These findings stress the importance of the broader location of these facilities and, in particular, the proximity to primary services, as fundamental components of an active lifestyle in institutionalized older adults and their integration in the neighborhood.