新冠疫情期间中国老年移民的空间流动性变化：身体、社会和虚拟环境因素的作用
Spatial Mobility Change Among Older Chinese Immigrants During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Physical, Social, and Virtual Environmental Factors.
作者信息
Yang Minhui, Wang Lu, Yang Lixia, Yu Jie, Chen Dongmei, Wang Miao, Dong Haoran, Yan Jingheng
机构信息
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada.
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada.
出版信息
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Mar 10;22(3):406. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22030406.
BACKGROUND
Vast spatial mobility changes happened globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, profoundly affecting older adults' well-being and active aging experience. This study aims to examine how the virtual environment and cyberspace, in conjunction with the physical and social neighbourhood environments, influence outdoor activities and spatial mobility for older immigrants.
METHODS
Four online focus groups were conducted with 25 older Chinese immigrants aged 65 and over in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. The focus groups explored coping strategies during the pandemic and spatial mobility patterns related to different activity types such as grocery shopping, leisure activities and physical exercises, social and familial activities, and healthcare. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted guided by the neighbourhood and health theoretical framework.
RESULTS
The overall engagement of older Chinese immigrants in various types of outdoor activities declined drastically and the spatial mobility pattern was complex. This change was shaped largely by the intersecting physical/built (e.g., residential conditions, access to public spaces), social (e.g., social support, interpersonal cohesion) and virtual (e.g., online communities and internet-based resources) environmental factors, as well as individual risk perceptions towards COVID-19 and public health interventions during the pandemic.
CONCLUSIONS
Virtual environment emerged as an important domain that compensates for the heavily reduced spatial mobility of the group during the pandemic. It functioned as a vital channel for older Chinese immigrants to sustain the necessary leisure, social, and healthcare-related activities and maintain well-being during the pandemic. The study provides implications for addressing neighbourhood-level factors in policymaking and implementing initiatives to enhance active ageing experience of older Chinese immigrants.
背景
在新冠疫情期间，全球范围内发生了巨大的空间流动性变化，深刻影响了老年人的福祉和积极老龄化体验。本研究旨在探讨虚拟环境和网络空间，连同物理和社会邻里环境，如何影响老年移民的户外活动和空间流动性。
方法
对加拿大大多伦多地区25名65岁及以上的华裔老年移民进行了四个在线焦点小组访谈。焦点小组探讨了疫情期间的应对策略以及与不同活动类型相关的空间流动模式，如购物、休闲活动和体育锻炼、社交和家庭活动以及医疗保健。在邻里和健康理论框架的指导下进行了定性主题分析。
结果
华裔老年移民在各类户外活动中的总体参与度大幅下降，空间流动模式复杂。这种变化在很大程度上受到物理/建筑（如居住条件、进入公共空间的机会）、社会（如社会支持、人际凝聚力）和虚拟（如在线社区和基于互联网的资源）环境因素的交叉影响，以及疫情期间个人对新冠病毒的风险认知和公共卫生干预措施的影响。
结论
虚拟环境成为一个重要领域，弥补了疫情期间该群体空间流动性大幅下降的问题。它是华裔老年移民在疫情期间维持必要的休闲、社交和医疗相关活动并保持福祉的重要渠道。该研究为在政策制定中考虑邻里层面因素以及实施举措以增强华裔老年移民的积极老龄化体验提供了启示。
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