Older People's Usage Pattern, Satisfaction with Community Facility and Well-Being in Urban Old Districts

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 18;19(16):10297. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610297.

Abstract

Community facilities are an important element that supports older people's daily life and promotes their well-being. However, there is a dearth of comprehensive studies on the effect of planning and design of different types of community facilities on older people's usage patterns and satisfaction. This study aims to provide a framework to explore the relationship among the planning of community facilities, older people's usage and satisfaction level and well-being for different types of community facilities. Both spatial analysis and questionnaire survey (n = 497) methods are employed in this study. This study finds that commercial (89.34%), municipal (83.10%) and leisure (88.13%) facilities are most commonly used by older people. This study suggests that older people's frequency of visiting community facilities is mainly affected by the purpose of visiting a community facility. Planning and design quality of the community facility are found to be significantly associated with older people's satisfaction level with using a community facility. In addition, older people's higher satisfaction level and usage level of community facilities could increase their physical and psychological well-being. The findings of this study not only contribute to the knowledge gap of older people's usage and satisfaction with using community facilities but also suggest that planners should aim toward a better distribution of community facilities to improve older adults' well-being.

Keywords: community facility; older people; urban old district; usage pattern; well-being.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Humans
  • Personal Satisfaction*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the General Research Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government (PolyU 156102/18H).