Online Program

335954
Environmental predictors of walking among older adults


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 1:10 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Marcia Ory, PhD, MPH, Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Samuel Towne, PhD, MPH, CPH, Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Jaewoong Won, MS, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M, College Station, TX
Chanam Lee, PhD, MLA, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Samuel N. Forjuoh, DrPH, MD, Family & Community Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, TX
Background. Primary care physicians are increasingly recommending physical activity (PA) for their older patients. Walking is the most common physical activity chosen by older adults. This study examines the influences of environmental, health, socio-demographic, and environmental characteristics on older adults’ walking behaviors.

Methods.  Online/paper surveys (n=262) were distributed to community-dwelling older (age ≥60) patients from a large integrated health care system in four counties in Central Texas. Logistic regression was used to predict walking ≥150 versus <150 minutes per week in line with meeting the CDC recommended amount of physical activity through walking.

Results. Individuals were older (median age=69 years), of both genders (50.18% female), primarily white (91.67%), and overweight or obese (66.29%).  Approximately, 30% walked ≥150 minutes a week.  Individuals 70 and older were more likely (OR 2.87, CI 1.15-7.19, p<.01) to walk ≥150 minutes per week, while the presence of balance or gait problems was a strong predictor of not walking ≥150 minutes (OR .07, CI 0.01-0.55, p<.05).  Those who perceived their neighborhood environment as safe also tended to walk more (OR 2.41, CI 1.10-5.32, p<.10) than those who felt their neighborhoods were less safe. Other social factors such as having someone to walk with or caregiving responsibilities were not associated with walking ≥150 minutes a week.

Conclusion. Physicians should be aware of and discuss barriers to walking facing older patients.  In providing recommendations, it is important to consider the impact of patients’ perceptions about the safety of their neighborhoods, and offer alternative strategies for achieving PA recommendations.

Learning Areas:

Biostatistics, economics
Environmental health sciences
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe physical activity recommendations for older adults, and the role of primary care physicians; Describe environmental, social, and health correlates of activity patterns

Keyword(s): Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified based on my academic background as a regents and distinguished professor with research expertise in physical activity and the built environment.
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.