Institute for Social Science Research, Life Course Centre, 1974University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
School of Earth and Environmental Science, 1974University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
J Appl Gerontol. 2022 Nov;41(11):2382-2391. doi: 10.1177/07334648221114345. Epub 2022 Jul 8.
To examine characteristics of the built environment and investigate associations with loneliness among older adults. Drawing on geocoded data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey and measures of neighborhood features retrieved from multiple publicly available sources, we conducted principal component and regression analyses to examine the associations between characteristics of the built environment and loneliness among older adults in South East Queensland, Australia. Older adults living in compact neighborhoods with higher population and housing density, smaller land parcels, and more access to green space reported lower levels of loneliness. Compact and mixed land-use neighborhoods may increase people's exposure to and social interactions with surrounding people and the environment. The built environment provides the context for social interactions. Our study and findings inform research and suggest the development of interventions surrounding the built environment that could potentially help tackle loneliness in older adults.
本研究旨在探讨老年人所处的建成环境特征及其与孤独感之间的关联。利用澳大利亚家庭、收入和劳动力动态调查中的地理编码数据，以及从多个公开来源获取的邻里特征测量数据，我们通过主成分分析和回归分析，考察了澳大利亚昆士兰州东南部老年人所处建成环境特征与其孤独感之间的关系。居住在人口密度和住房密度较高、土地面积较小、绿地可达性较高的紧凑型邻里的老年人，其孤独感水平较低。紧凑型和混合用途的邻里可能会增加人们与周围人和环境的接触和社会互动。建成环境为社会互动提供了背景。我们的研究和发现为相关研究提供了信息，并提出了围绕建成环境开展干预的建议，这可能有助于解决老年人的孤独感问题。
