Lee Sungmin, Lee Chanam, Rodiek Susan
Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Feb 8;14(2):163. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14020163.
Falls are serious health problems among older adults, and are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries treated by emergency medical services (EMS). Although considerable research has examined the risk factors of falls at the individual level, relatively few studies have addressed the risk factors at the neighborhood level. This study examines the characteristics of neighborhood environments associated with fall injuries reported to EMS providers. A total of 13,163 EMS records from 2011 to 2014 involving adults aged 65 and older in the city of San Antonio (TX, USA) were analyzed at the census tract level (n = 264). Negative binomial regression was used to identify significant census tract-based neighborhood environmental variables associated with the count of fall injuries in each census tract. Adjusting for exposure variable and the size of the census tract, neighborhoods with higher residential stability, captured as the percent of those who lived in the same house as the previous year were associated with decreased count of fall injuries. Neighborhoods with higher residential density and having a higher vacancy rate were associated with increased count of fall injuries. The study highlights the importance of stable and safe neighborhoods in reducing fall risks among older adults, which should be considered a prerequisite for promoting age-friendly environments.
跌倒是老年人面临的严重健康问题，也是紧急医疗服务（EMS）救治的致命和非致命伤害的主要原因。尽管已有大量研究探讨了个体层面的跌倒风险因素，但针对邻里层面风险因素的研究相对较少。本研究调查了向EMS提供者报告的与跌倒受伤相关的邻里环境特征。对2011年至2014年美国得克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市涉及65岁及以上成年人的13163份EMS记录在普查区层面（n = 264）进行了分析。采用负二项回归来确定与每个普查区跌倒受伤计数相关的基于普查区的显著邻里环境变量。在调整暴露变量和普查区规模后，以与上一年居住在同一房屋中的人口百分比衡量的较高居住稳定性的邻里，其跌倒受伤计数减少。较高居住密度和较高空置率的邻里与跌倒受伤计数增加相关。该研究强调了稳定和安全的邻里环境在降低老年人跌倒风险方面的重要性，这应被视为促进老龄友好型环境的先决条件。
