Examining Spatial Relationship Between Housing Environments and Physical Functioning of Older Americans
Date
2022-08
Authors
Singh, Chayanika
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Abstract
As the number of older adults who are residing in their community and/or those who prefer to stay in their community has increased in the US (and is expected to grow continuously), understanding the older adults’ needs for healthier and happier aging-in-place is critically important. Housing environments (home and neighborhood) are of particular importance for older adults because they spend most of their time at home and nearby areas. Literature suggests a connection between declining physical functioning and home modification to reduce daily task difficulties. In addition to the in-home environments, a safe neighborhood also promotes active and healthy aging process. Despite of the prevalence of research related to housing environments and their impact on health outcome for older people, there is scarcity of geographical studies examining the role of housing environments to improve functional health of older people in the US. This dissertation uses a multilevel and hierarchical quantitative approach to explore the relationship between housing environments and physical functioning of older Americans, using the HRS (Health and Retirement Study) data for three case study states ██████████.
The spatial analysis of the relationship between physical functioning (ability to independently conduct routine activities in daily life) and housing environments (home modification features to improve accessibility and perception of safe neighborhoods) is examined at the census tract level. The spatial interaction among different census tracts is constructed using the SCCS (Spatial Contiguity and Categorical Similarity) weighing matrix method, used in the multilevel hierarchical logistic spatial autoregressive models (HLSAR).
The result of the spatial analysis shows a stronger link between the neighborhoods that are of similar type (either being urban, suburban, or rural) and have spatial contiguity. The likelihood of having difficulties in physical function is lesser for older adults living in such strongly connected neighborhoods as compared to those living in isolation. The results also suggest higher odds of having poor functional health among those aged 85 years and above, females, living in a rented house, having lower household income, poor self-rated health, and living in less safer neighborhoods with sign of poor structural maintenance.
These findings provide an understanding of the impact of housing environments on older adults’ well-being, which will inform policy and practice efforts to better serve the community-dwelling older adults, guided by geographical variation as discussed in this dissertation.
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Keywords
older adults, physical functioning, housing environment, perceived neighborhood safety, HSAR model, spatial multilevel hierarchical regression
Citation
Singh, C. (2022). Examining spatial relationship between housing environments and physical functioning of older Americans (Unpublished dissertation). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.