Abstract
Background: Healthy living in senior-living facilities is an important focus for the residents, their families, and senior-living service providers. Appropriate physical activities such as walking benefit seniors’ health and the built environment in facilities is one obvious mechanism for promoting physical activities. But we lack research on environmental factors significant to physical activities in senior-living facilities. Previous studies focused on the larger facility-level conditions, overlooking the detailed room-level characteristics, which may have a more direct impact on residents’ physical activities.
Aim: Focusing on walking, this research investigates both facility-level and room-level correlates of residents’ physical activities in senior-living facilities.
Methods: Data of independent and/or assisted-living facilities are collected in California and Missouri through GIS, surveys, and on-site observations. Survey questions and observation tools are adopted from previously validated research. Focusing on residents’ daily walking, survey responses are collected from the residents and their care givers. Key attributes of environmental design are summarized and measured at the site, building, and room levels. Bivariate tests and multivariate analyses are conducted to identify environmental factors significant to the frequency of walking and the duration per occurrence.
Findings: Confirming findings from previous research, expected environmental correlates of residents’ walking in senior-living facilities include indoor sunshine, window view, indoor-outdoor connections, transitional areas, green areas, walking-route choices, and destinations for walking on the property. Findings are discussed through the eyes of designers and academic researchers working together to examine what it means to design for residents’ walking in senior-living facilities.