Spatial Mobility Change Among Older Chinese Immigrants During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Physical, Social, and Virtual Environmental Factors

Minhui Yang, Lu Wang (), Lixia Yang, Jie Yu, Dongmei Chen, Miao Wang, Haoran Dong and Jingheng Yan
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Minhui Yang: Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
Lu Wang: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Lixia Yang: Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Jie Yu: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Dongmei Chen: Department of Geography and Planning, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Miao Wang: Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Haoran Dong: Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
Jingheng Yan: Department of Geography and Planning, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Background: Vast spatial mobility changes happened globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, profoundly affecting older adults’ well-being and active aging experience. This study aims to examine how the virtual environment and cyberspace, in conjunction with the physical and social neighbourhood environments, influence outdoor activities and spatial mobility for older immigrants. Methods: Four online focus groups were conducted with 25 older Chinese immigrants aged 65 and over in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. The focus groups explored coping strategies during the pandemic and spatial mobility patterns related to different activity types such as grocery shopping, leisure activities and physical exercises, social and familial activities, and healthcare. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted guided by the neighbourhood and health theoretical framework. Results: The overall engagement of older Chinese immigrants in various types of outdoor activities declined drastically and the spatial mobility pattern was complex. This change was shaped largely by the intersecting physical/built (e.g., residential conditions, access to public spaces), social (e.g., social support, interpersonal cohesion) and virtual (e.g., online communities and internet-based resources) environmental factors, as well as individual risk perceptions towards COVID-19 and public health interventions during the pandemic. Conclusions: Virtual environment emerged as an important domain that compensates for the heavily reduced spatial mobility of the group during the pandemic. It functioned as a vital channel for older Chinese immigrants to sustain the necessary leisure, social, and healthcare-related activities and maintain well-being during the pandemic. The study provides implications for addressing neighbourhood-level factors in policymaking and implementing initiatives to enhance active ageing experience of older Chinese immigrants.

Keywords: spatial mobility; older immigrants; virtual environment; neighbourhood and health; Chinese; COVID-19 pandemic; Chinese immigrants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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