306488
Neighborhood Environment, Fear of Crime, and Health Among Urban Older Adults
Objective: Neighborhood conditions can either support or hinder the health of its residents; however research suggests that inhabitants are differently susceptible to harmful neighborhood effects. Social factors may contribute to differential susceptibility, by either increasing resilience against health risks or exacerbating negative consequences associated with living in adverse conditions. However, relatively little is known about the association between neighborhood conditions and health in later life. This study examines the effects of self-rated health (SRH) on perceived and actual crime (neighborhood environment) among urban older adults after adjusting for chronic and psychological conditions and socio-demographic characteristics.
Methods: We selected 217 individuals aged 65+ who answered questions about their neighborhood environment on the 2009 Speak to Your Health survey. First, we examined fear of crime (perceived) then we merged actual crime index data with survey responses to examine the association between actual crime rates and health. We used Poisson and multinomial regression models to examine neighborhood environment, self-rated health, chronic and psychological conditions among different community populations.
Results: Results show a strong association between fear of crime and SRH. Fear of crime is associated with poor SRH among urban white seniors (OR = 9.94, p < 0.005) but not urban black seniors (OR = 2.22, p = 0.31). In addition, social participation and chronic stress are strong predictors. Furthermore, results also show that actual crime rate in the community is not associated with SRH (OR = 1.10, p = 0.80).
Discussion: Understanding specific neighborhood influences on health will enable us to improve the lives of older adults, many of who are aging in place. These results have important implications for researchers who seek to address the growing population of urban older adults.
Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and preventionPublic health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Assess factors that contribute to positive and negative health effects in older adults living in urban centers.
Identify policy level interventions to improve the health status of urban older adults.
Keyword(s): Aging, Policy/Policy Development
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be a presenter on this topic because I was funded by the Michigan Center for Urban African-American Aging Research to study neighborhood conditions and health related issues among urban older adults. I am also trained in public health policy and have published on policy related issues.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.