School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi 110001, India.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 4;18(4):1491. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041491.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations have increasingly acknowledged the importance of urban green space (UGS) for healthy ageing. However, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India with exponential ageing populations have inadequate UGS. This qualitative study examined the relationships between UGS and healthy ageing in two megacities in India. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling in New Delhi and Chennai and semi-structured interviews were conducted with consenting participants (N = 60, female = 51%; age > 60 years; fluent in English, Hindi, or Tamil). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and analysed using inductive and thematic analysis. Benefits of UGS included community building and social capital, improved health and social resilience, physical activity promotion, reduced exposure to noise, air pollution, and heat. Poorly maintained UGS and lack of safe, age-friendly pedestrian infrastructure were identified as barriers to health promotion in later life. Neighbourhood disorder and crime constrained older adults' use of UGS in low-income neighbourhoods. This study underscores the role of UGS in the design of age-friendly communities in India. The findings highlight the benefits of UGS for older adults, particularly those living in socially disadvantaged or underserved communities, which often have least access to high-quality parks and green areas.
世界卫生组织和联合国越来越认识到城市绿地（UGS）对健康老龄化的重要性。然而，像印度这样人口呈指数级增长的中低收入国家（LMIC），UGS 不足。这项定性研究考察了印度两个特大城市中 UGS 与健康老龄化之间的关系。在新德里和钦奈，采用滚雪球抽样法招募参与者，征得同意的参与者（N=60，女性=51%；年龄>60 岁；英语、印地语或泰米尔语流利）进行半结构式访谈。使用归纳和主题分析对访谈进行记录、转录、翻译和分析。UGS 的好处包括社区建设和社会资本、改善健康和社会复原力、促进身体活动、减少接触噪音、空气污染和热量。维护不善的 UGS 和缺乏安全、适合老年人使用的行人基础设施被认为是晚年促进健康的障碍。社区秩序混乱和犯罪限制了老年人在低收入社区使用 UGS。这项研究强调了 UGS 在印度设计适合老年人社区中的作用。研究结果强调了 UGS 对老年人的益处，特别是那些生活在社会劣势或服务不足社区的老年人，他们往往最难以获得高质量的公园和绿地。
