Psychosocial and Social Environmental Factors as Moderators in the Relation between the Objective Environment and Older Adults’ Active Transport

Linda M. Nguyen and Lieze Mertens
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Linda M. Nguyen: Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
Lieze Mertens: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: In order to develop tailored interventions aiming to encourage active transport among older adults, it is important to gain insights into the modifiable moderators affecting active transport behavior considering the neighborhood in which one lives. Therefore, this study aimed to determine which objective physical environmental factors have an impact on the active transport behavior of Belgian older adults (?65 years old) and which psychosocial and social environmental moderators influence those relationships. Data from 503 independent living older adults who participated the Belgian Environmental Physical Activity Study in Seniors were included. Multilevel negative binominal regression models (participants nested in neighborhoods) with log link function were fitted for the analyses. Our resulted indicated that older adults living in an environment with higher residential density, higher park density, lower public transport density, and more entropy index had higher active transport levels. Furthermore, different types of neighborhood in which older adults live can lead to different moderators that are decisive for increasing older adults’ active transport behavior. Therefore, based on our results some recommendations towards tailored interventions could be given to increase older adults’ active transport behavior depending on the environment in which one lives.

Keywords: walking; cycling; elderly; neighborhood; interaction effects; socio-ecological model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:5:p:2647-:d:511627

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