Dilian Omer, Davidovitch Nadav, Martens Karel
Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba, Israel.
Gerontologist. 2025 Aug 4;65(8). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnaf153.
Mobility is a hallmark of functional aging and a major health determinant in older adults. Mobility is known to decline with age, yet, except for research on driving cessation, little is known about the role of giving up other transport modes in this decline. This exploratory qualitative research focusses on public transport use, and aims to describe the process of ceasing to use public transport, its causes, and its effects on health and mobility.
This is a qualitative study, using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Participants were 23 older adults living in urbanized areas in Israel, aged 67-88 (mean 80.4 ± 6.5), in various stages of public transport use cessation. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, with transcripts thematically analyzed inductively and deductively.
Public transport use cessation is described in terms of a semi-linear process beginning with slow mobility declines that lead to difficulties using particular public transport services. Coping mechanisms are sometimes used to maintain or regain public transport use, but eventually are not enough. Public transport use cessation then leads to a further decline in mobility and loss of independence.
Public transport use cessation is an important aspect of age-related mobility decline among older adults who use public transport. It has significant detrimental mobility outcomes, and in some cases leads to complete loss of independence, potentially accelerating age-related health decline. Future research should focus on quantitative analyses and investigate interventions to maintain independence further into the aging process.
行动能力是功能性衰老的一个标志，也是老年人健康的主要决定因素。众所周知，行动能力会随着年龄增长而下降，然而，除了关于停止驾车的研究外，对于放弃其他交通方式在这种下降过程中所起的作用知之甚少。这项探索性定性研究聚焦于公共交通使用情况，旨在描述停止使用公共交通的过程、其原因以及对健康和行动能力的影响。
这是一项定性研究，采用半结构化深度访谈。参与者为23名居住在以色列城市化地区的老年人，年龄在67 - 88岁之间（平均80.4 ± 6.5岁），处于公共交通使用停止的不同阶段。访谈进行录音并逐字转录，对转录文本进行归纳和演绎的主题分析。
公共交通使用停止被描述为一个半线性过程，始于行动能力缓慢下降，导致使用特定公共交通服务出现困难。有时会采用应对机制来维持或恢复公共交通使用，但最终并不足够。公共交通使用停止随后会导致行动能力进一步下降和独立性丧失。
对于使用公共交通的老年人而言，公共交通使用停止是与年龄相关的行动能力下降的一个重要方面。它具有显著的负面行动能力后果，在某些情况下会导致完全丧失独立性，可能加速与年龄相关的健康衰退。未来的研究应侧重于定量分析，并研究在衰老过程中进一步维持独立性的干预措施。
