The relationship among community environment, behavior, activity ability, and self-rated health of older adults: A hierarchical and multi-dimensional comparative study

Abstract

Although the community environment is a known determinant of older adults’ health, it is unclear about the logical relationships among the community environment, behavior, activity ability, and health of older adults, and the differences between the different age groups. This study used a two-stage sampling method to conduct a household survey of people over 60 years old living in Xinhua Street, Shanghai, China. In total, 2783 valid samples were obtained. Of these, 1256 were males and 1627 were females, with an average age of 71.1 years. The statistical method used in this study was the structural equation modeling method. The effects of the community environment and behavior on the activity ability and self-rated health of older adults are different, and the path of health influence of older adults is different in different age groups. Community environment has more wider effects on older adults’ self-rated health, while behavior, including walking behavior and neighbor contacts, have a more intensive effect on the activity ability of older adults. The community environment has a significant positive effect on the activity ability of the younger group but not on that of the older group, which instead was significantly affected by the neighbor contacts. Therefore, refined environmental governance and targeted improvement and resolution of different types of health problems among different groups of older persons will contribute to the overall health of older adults.