Age-Friendly Communities and Older Adults’ Health in the United States

Kyeongmo Kim, Thomas D. Buckley, Denise Burnette, Jin Huang and Seon Kim
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Kyeongmo Kim: School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Thomas D. Buckley: Department of Psychiatry, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
Denise Burnette: School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Jin Huang: School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
Seon Kim: School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-12

Abstract: As age-friendly community (AFC) initiatives grow, it will be essential to determine whether older adults who live in an AFC have better health than those who live in other environments. This study uses data from the 2017 AARP AFC Surveys and the AARP Livability Index to assess whether AFCs promote the health of older adults. We analyze data for 3027 adults aged 65 and older who reside in 262 zip code areas. Following AARP guidelines, we allocated the sample into two groups: an AFC group (livability score of 51+; n = 2364) and a non-AFC (score ≤ 50, n = 663). The outcome variable was self-rated health (M = 3.5; SD = 1.1; range: 1–5). We used an inverse probability weighting approach to evaluate whether older adults who live in an AFC reported better self-rated health than those who live in a non-AFC. Findings showed that older adults who lived in an AFC had better self-rated health than those in a non-AFC (b = 0.08, p = 0.027). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, Black and Hispanic older adults reported worse self-rated health. Inasmuch as living in an AFC can promote the well-being of older adults, policymakers and practitioners should continue to develop and sustain high-quality, accessible built and social environments.

Keywords: age-friendly environments; age-friendly community; health; well-being; livability; physical environment; social environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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