Friedman Samantha, Fang Chunxu, Yang Tse-Chuan, Li Rui, Mithu Imran Hossain, Manganello Jennifer A, Romeiko Xiaobo, Lin Shao
Department of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York, 348 Arts & Sciences Building 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA.
Department of Geography and Planning, University at Albany, State University of New York, 348 Arts & Sciences Building 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Feb 24;22(3):332. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22030332.
We examined neighborhood-level demographic, economic, and social characteristics and food and health-services access to gauge the vulnerability of older-adult neighborhoods in New York State (NYS), which is understudied and is significant given the rapid aging of populations worldwide. We conducted descriptive ecological analyses using data from the American Community Survey, historical redlining maps, Social Capital Instruments, U.S. Department of Agriculture food access atlas, ESRI businesses, and Social Determinants of Health. We compared census tracts classified as having high and low levels of older-adult population; among those identified as high-older-adult neighborhoods, we then examined tracts with high and low levels of adult population living alone and in poverty. Our results showed that NYS neighborhoods with large shares of the older adult population are generally faring well in terms of their socioeconomic status, social capital, lack of social isolation, and health services access. However, the older-adult neighborhoods with larger shares of the population living alone and in poverty fare worse, living in areas with poorer socioeconomic status, lower social capital, and considered medically underserved. NYS older adult communities are projected to increase by 2030. Resources should be invested in such areas with vulnerable groups so populations may age in equitable and accessible communities.
我们研究了社区层面的人口、经济和社会特征以及食品和健康服务的可及性，以评估纽约州（NYS）老年人群体居住社区的脆弱性。鉴于全球人口老龄化迅速，这方面的研究较少且意义重大。我们使用美国社区调查、历史红线图、社会资本工具、美国农业部食品可及性地图集、ESRI商业数据以及健康的社会决定因素等数据进行了描述性生态分析。我们比较了被归类为老年人口水平高和低的普查区；在那些被确定为老年人口比例高的社区中，我们进一步研究了独居和贫困成年人口水平高和低的普查区。我们的结果表明，纽约州老年人口占比大的社区在社会经济地位、社会资本、不存在社会孤立以及获得健康服务方面总体表现良好。然而，独居和贫困成年人口占比大的老年人群体居住社区情况较差，它们所在地区的社会经济地位较低、社会资本较少，且被认为医疗服务不足。预计到2030年，纽约州的老年人群体社区数量将会增加。应该在这些弱势群体所在地区投入资源，以便人们能够在公平且可获得服务的社区中安享晚年。
