Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Access to urban green spaces and use of social services and institutional long-term care among older people in Malmö, Sweden: a longitudinal register study

Axmon, Anna LU orcid ; Mattisson, Kristoffer LU orcid ; Lethin, Connie LU orcid ; Fänge, Agneta Malmgren LU orcid ; Carlsson, Gunilla LU and Stroh, Emilie LU orcid (2024) In BMC Geriatrics 24(1).
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Finding ways to prolong independence in daily life among older people would be beneficial for both individuals and society. Urban green spaces have been found to improve health, but only a few studies have evaluated the association between urban green spaces and independence in daily life. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effect of urban green spaces on independence in daily life, using social services and support, mobility aids, and relocation to institutional long-term care as proxies, among community dwelling people 65 + years.

METHODS: We identified 40 357 people 65 + years living in the city of Malmö, Sweden in 2010. Using geographical information systems (GIS), we determined the amount of urban... (More)

BACKGROUND: Finding ways to prolong independence in daily life among older people would be beneficial for both individuals and society. Urban green spaces have been found to improve health, but only a few studies have evaluated the association between urban green spaces and independence in daily life. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effect of urban green spaces on independence in daily life, using social services and support, mobility aids, and relocation to institutional long-term care as proxies, among community dwelling people 65 + years.

METHODS: We identified 40 357 people 65 + years living in the city of Malmö, Sweden in 2010. Using geographical information systems (GIS), we determined the amount of urban green spaces (total, public, and quiet) within 300 m of each person's residence. All three measures were categorized based on their respective percentiles, so that the first quartile represented the 25% with the least access and the fourth quartile the 25% with the most access. In 2015 and 2019, we assessed the outcomes minor assistance (non-personal support), major assistance (personal support), and relocation into institutional long-term care. These three outcome measures were used as proxies for independence in daily life. The effect of amount of urban green spaces in 2010 on the three outcomes in 2015 and 2019, respectively, was assessed by pairwise comparing the three highest quartiles to the lowest.

RESULTS: Compared to the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile of quiet green spaces in 2010 were less likely to receive minor assistance in both 2015 and 2019. Besides this, there were no indications that any of the measures of urban green space affected independence in daily life at the five- and nine-year follow-up, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Although urban green spaces are known to have positive impact on health, physical activity, and social cohesion among older people, we found no effect of total, public, or quiet green spaces on independence in daily life. This could possibly be a result of the choice of measures of urban green spaces, including spatial and temporal aspects, an inability to capture important qualitative aspects of the green spaces, or the proxy measures used to assess independence in daily life.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Humans, Sweden/epidemiology, Aged, Female, Male, Longitudinal Studies, Long-Term Care/methods, Aged, 80 and over, Registries, Activities of Daily Living, Parks, Recreational, Social Work/methods, Independent Living/trends, Urban Population
in
BMC Geriatrics
volume
24
issue
1
article number
489
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:38834961
ISSN
1471-2318
DOI
10.1186/s12877-024-05112-z
project
Health promoting environments for an aging population – a register and GIS study to assess effects of urban green and low-noise neighborhoods on social service and nursing home use
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© 2024. The Author(s).
id
314a4f2b-3991-48fb-ba4d-29273dedace7
date added to LUP
2024-06-10 07:39:14
date last changed
2024-06-10 09:26:15
@article{314a4f2b-3991-48fb-ba4d-29273dedace7,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Finding ways to prolong independence in daily life among older people would be beneficial for both individuals and society. Urban green spaces have been found to improve health, but only a few studies have evaluated the association between urban green spaces and independence in daily life. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effect of urban green spaces on independence in daily life, using social services and support, mobility aids, and relocation to institutional long-term care as proxies, among community dwelling people 65 + years.</p><p>METHODS: We identified 40 357 people 65 + years living in the city of Malmö, Sweden in 2010. Using geographical information systems (GIS), we determined the amount of urban green spaces (total, public, and quiet) within 300 m of each person's residence. All three measures were categorized based on their respective percentiles, so that the first quartile represented the 25% with the least access and the fourth quartile the 25% with the most access. In 2015 and 2019, we assessed the outcomes minor assistance (non-personal support), major assistance (personal support), and relocation into institutional long-term care. These three outcome measures were used as proxies for independence in daily life. The effect of amount of urban green spaces in 2010 on the three outcomes in 2015 and 2019, respectively, was assessed by pairwise comparing the three highest quartiles to the lowest.</p><p>RESULTS: Compared to the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile of quiet green spaces in 2010 were less likely to receive minor assistance in both 2015 and 2019. Besides this, there were no indications that any of the measures of urban green space affected independence in daily life at the five- and nine-year follow-up, respectively.</p><p>CONCLUSION: Although urban green spaces are known to have positive impact on health, physical activity, and social cohesion among older people, we found no effect of total, public, or quiet green spaces on independence in daily life. This could possibly be a result of the choice of measures of urban green spaces, including spatial and temporal aspects, an inability to capture important qualitative aspects of the green spaces, or the proxy measures used to assess independence in daily life.</p>}},
  author       = {{Axmon, Anna and Mattisson, Kristoffer and Lethin, Connie and Fänge, Agneta Malmgren and Carlsson, Gunilla and Stroh, Emilie}},
  issn         = {{1471-2318}},
  keywords     = {{Humans; Sweden/epidemiology; Aged; Female; Male; Longitudinal Studies; Long-Term Care/methods; Aged, 80 and over; Registries; Activities of Daily Living; Parks, Recreational; Social Work/methods; Independent Living/trends; Urban Population}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Geriatrics}},
  title        = {{Access to urban green spaces and use of social services and institutional long-term care among older people in Malmö, Sweden: a longitudinal register study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-05112-z}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12877-024-05112-z}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}