Wennberg Hanna, Ståhl Agneta, Hydén Christer
Department of Technology and Society, Lund University, Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
Eur J Ageing. 2009 Jul 30;6(4):277. doi: 10.1007/s10433-009-0123-y. eCollection 2009 Dec.
This paper focuses on older peoples' needs as pedestrians by examining their perceptions of the outdoor environment in both bare-ground and snow/ice conditions. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used, including focus group interviews, participant observations, and questionnaires. The results show that older people consider accessibility/usability issues as very important and that the importance depends on such individual background variables as age, sex, occurrence of functional limitations, use of mobility devices, and dependence on walking as transport mode. In bare-ground conditions, physical barriers are more important for the oldest old (80+) and for older people with functional limitations or mobility devices. However, orderliness-related issues (e.g. cyclists in pedestrian areas, lighting, and litter/graffiti) are equally important regardless of the background variables. In snow/ice conditions, ice prevention is considered more important than snow removal. Snow removal on a detailed level (e.g. removal of heaps of snow on pavements and zebra crossings) is emphasised. In conclusion, it is important to study subgroups, not older people as one group, in the analysis of accessibility/usability of outdoor environments. Further, even though those accessibility issues emphasised in current Swedish governmental directives on accessibility are considered as important by older people themselves, especially among the oldest old and among those with functional limitations and mobility devices, the needs will not totally be fulfilled by current directives. For example, winter maintenance, problems with cyclists in pedestrian areas, and the need for benches are neglected.
本文通过研究老年人在裸露地面以及冰雪条件下对户外环境的认知，聚焦于老年人作为行人的需求。采用了定性和定量方法，包括焦点小组访谈、参与观察和问卷调查。结果表明，老年人认为可达性/可用性问题非常重要，而且这种重要性取决于年龄、性别、功能受限情况、使用移动设备情况以及对步行作为交通方式的依赖程度等个体背景变量。在裸露地面条件下，物理障碍对高龄老人（80岁以上）以及有功能受限或使用移动设备的老年人更为重要。然而，无论背景变量如何，与秩序相关的问题（如行人区域的骑自行车者、照明以及垃圾/涂鸦）同样重要。在冰雪条件下，防滑比除雪更受重视。强调了在细节层面的除雪（如清除人行道和斑马线上的积雪堆）。总之，在分析户外环境的可达性/可用性时，研究亚群体而非将老年人作为一个整体来研究很重要。此外，尽管瑞典政府当前关于可达性的指令中强调的那些可达性问题被老年人自己认为很重要，特别是在高龄老人以及有功能受限和使用移动设备的人群中，但当前指令并不能完全满足这些需求。例如，冬季维护、行人区域骑自行车者的问题以及对长椅的需求都被忽视了。
