Eronen Johanna, von Bonsdorff Mikaela, Rantakokko Merja, Rantanen Taina
Gerontology Research Center and Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35 (Viv), 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland.
Eur J Ageing. 2013 Jun 5;11(1):67-75. doi: 10.1007/s10433-013-0283-7. eCollection 2014 Mar.
Older adults who report environmental barriers in their neighborhood have a higher risk for walking difficulty. However, environmental facilitators that protect against walking difficulty are not well known. The objective of this study was to identify the effect of environmental facilitators for outdoor walking on development of walking difficulty in community-dwelling older people. This was a prospective study with a 3.5-year follow-up time on 261 community-dwelling people aged 75-81 years, who at baseline were able to walk 0.5 km without difficulty. Environmental facilitators for outdoor walking were self-reported with standardized questionnaires, including having features in one's home which make it easy to access the outdoors, having a park or other green area within a walking distance from home, having outdoor recreational facilities within a walking distance from home, having features in the nearby environment, which are attractive for outdoor activities, and perceiving the surrounding environment or facilities nearby as motivating factors for physical activity. Self-reported difficulty in walking 0.5 km was assessed every 6 months. Of the participants, 46 % developed walking difficulty during the follow-up. Having a park or other green area within a walking distance from home was the most frequently reported facilitator. Environmental facilitators decreased the risk for development of walking difficulty, hazard ratio per item 0.86, (95 % confidence interval 0.73-1.02). The results indicate that the mobility of older community-dwelling people may be promoted with outdoor recreational facilities that are easy to access and located within a walking distance from home.
报告称其社区存在环境障碍的老年人行走困难风险更高。然而，能预防行走困难的环境促进因素却鲜为人知。本研究的目的是确定户外行走的环境促进因素对社区居住老年人行走困难发展的影响。这是一项对261名年龄在75 - 81岁的社区居住者进行的前瞻性研究，随访时间为3.5年，这些人在基线时能够轻松行走0.5公里。通过标准化问卷对户外行走的环境促进因素进行自我报告，包括家中有便于出门的设施、家附近步行距离内有公园或其他绿地、家附近步行距离内有户外娱乐设施、附近环境中有吸引户外活动的特征，以及将周围环境或附近设施视为身体活动的激励因素。每6个月评估一次自我报告的行走0.5公里的困难程度。在随访期间，46%的参与者出现了行走困难。家附近步行距离内有公园或其他绿地是最常被报告的促进因素。环境促进因素降低了行走困难发展的风险，每项的风险比为0.86（95%置信区间0.73 - 1.02）。结果表明，对于社区居住的老年人，可通过便于使用且位于家附近步行距离内的户外娱乐设施来促进其行动能力。
