Barriers to Walkability Impact the Quality of Life Among Aging Flint Residents

Abstract

Objective: Walkability is a popular term used to describe aspects of the built and social environment that have important population-level impacts on physical activity, energy balance, and health and increases positive quality of life (QOL). However, many barriers discourage older adults from walking, ranging from lack of motivation to unsafe neighborhood environments. The objective of this study is to understand if walkability is associated with QOL. Because the low socioeconomic area such as Flint indicates poor perceived walkable neighborhoods, we expected that as people age, perceived barriers to walkability negatively impacts QOL. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited in 2018 and 2019 at regional health clinics in Flint, MI. To be eligible, participants had to be over 65 years old and Flint residents. The independent variable is there are major barriers to walking in my neighborhood that make it hard to get from place to place (for example, freeways, railway lines, rivers, canyons, hillsides) and the dependent variable is SF-36 (physical and mental health). Descriptive statistics was utilized on SPSS. Results: Of the 144 participants, the mean age was 69.91 (SD = 5.103). The majority were female (63.2%), African American (72.9%), divorced (37.1%), and high school graduates (36.1%). The correlation analysis revealed that barriers to walking in the neighborhood and total mean mental composite score is statistically significant. Barriers to walking in the neighborhood and total mean physical composite score is not statistically significant. Age and QOL and age and barriers to walking in the neighborhood is not statistically significant. Discussion: The findings suggest that neighborhood walkability characteristics are associated with mental health but are not associated with physical health. There is no relationship between age and QOL and age and barriers to walking in the neighborhood.