A Meta-Analysis on the Influence of Age-Friendly Environments on Older Adults’ Physical and Mental Well-Being

Jia-Jia Zhou, Rui Kang and Xue Bai ()
Additional contact information
Jia-Jia Zhou: Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Rui Kang: Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Xue Bai: Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: The importance of age-friendly environments (AFEs) for older adults has been empirically and theoretically highlighted by the extant literature. However, the strength of the association between environments and older adults’ well-being has not been comprehensively quantified. Given the different attributes of the physical and mental dimensions, this meta-analysis aims to synthesise and quantify the association between AFEs and the physical and mental well-being of older adults. Fourteen eligible studies were included in this analysis: among which eight explored the link between AFEs and physical well-being, and eleven investigated AFEs in association with mental well-being. A random-effects model showed a small but significant correlation between AFEs and the mental well-being of older adults ( r = 0.160, 95% CI [0.084, 0.224], p < 0.001), and the correlation between AFEs and physical well-being was also significant ( r = 0.072, 95% CI [0.026, 0.118], p < 0.01). The number of environmental factors involved in AFEs moderated the association with physical well-being, from which the association was only significant among studies focusing on fewer environmental factors ( n < 6). Results of this meta-analysis indicated that AFEs may be more effective in promoting the emotions of older adults, compared to ameliorating their physical functioning. The limitations of current empirical studies and directions for future research in the field of environmental gerontology were also discussed.

Keywords: age-friendly environments; meta-analysis; physical well-being; mental well-being; healthy ageing; older adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/13813/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/13813/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:13813-:d:951541

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().