Purpose: The potential mediating role of acute mental states (emotions and stress) has been largely ignored when studying the relations between physical and social environmental characteristics of public open spaces (POS) (e.g. streets, parks) and older adults’ physical activity levels or long-term mental health outcomes. We aim to develop a framework describing the pathways between objective and subjective environmental characteristics of POS, acute mental states while using the POS, (active) use of POS and mental health among older adults.

Methods: We performed a scoping review to develop a preliminary version of the framework. This framework will be further developed based on (1) systematic reviews of reviews, (2) a qualitative study using walk-along interviews and (3) expert input. Systematic reviews of reviews will be performed for the different relations included in the framework (e.g., POS characteristics and acute mental states in the POS, POS characteristics and (active) use of POS).  to assess the strength of evidence for these relationships and identify research gaps. Given that our scoping review showed that there is limited research on what acute emotional states older adults experience while walking through POS and how these are influenced by POS characteristics, a qualitative study using walk-along interviews will be performed to identify how POS characteristics influence acute emotional states among Belgian older adults. Finally, the framework will be presented to experts in the relevant research areas to provide feedback.     

Results: The study will result in a framework describing the potential pathways between objective and subjective environmental characteristics of POS, acute mental states when visiting a POS, (active) use of POS and mental health outcomes. Research gaps will be identified.

Conclusions: The framework will identify potential moderators, mediators and confounders of the included relationships and will inform future studies on this topic. It will provide an overview for the following two studies presented in this symposium.

Purpose

Public parks are an accessible setting to promote older adults’ activity levels. However, research investigating the association between park availability and older adults’ physical activity levels using objective methods is scarce and mainly cross-sectional. The aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the number of parks near home and levels of physical activity among older adults.

Methods

At baseline, 431 older adults (mean age: 74.3 years, 54% women) participated in the study. Three years later, 147 participants (mean age: 72.4 years, 52% women) of this original sample took part in the follow-up. Participants’ levels of light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were assessed using accelerometry. The number of public parks around participants’ residence was calculated using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Generalized linear mixed models were fitted to assess the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the number of parks near home and participants’ levels of LPA and MVPA.

Results

At baseline, a higher number of parks near home predicted higher levels of MVPA, especially among the youngest segment of older adults (B(SE) = -0.20(0.07), p = .01). Longitudinally, a three-way interaction between the number of parks in the buffer, time (i.e. baseline vs. follow-up) and participants’ age was detected for LPA (B(SE) = -1.74(0.66), p = .01) as well as MVPA (expB(SE) = -0.02(0.01), p = .02). Among the younger-old, having more parks near home predicted a slower (LPA) or equal (MVPA) decline in physical activity in comparison with having less parks near home. However, older participants having more parks nearby showed a stronger decline in their levels of LPA and MVPA than older participants having less parks nearby.

Conclusions

The results of this study highlight the relevance of ensuring that (1) parks are not removed in existing developments and (2) sufficient attention is given to the number of parks in new developments. However, more research examining the park-related needs of the older-old is needed to unleash the potential beneficial effects of having many parks nearby for this target group.

Background:

Greenspace may promote older adults’ mental health by relieving stress and restoring concentration to a certain extent. However, there are apparent differences in the relationship between greenspace and mental health, when greenspace is measured from diverse perspectives (e.g., greenery coverage, street view greenery and greenery in parks). Until now, the nature and direction of these associations in older adults are unclear. The aim of this study was to examine and contrast the effects of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), green coverage, streetscape greenspace and park coverage on older adults’ mental health. Also, we explored the moderating effects of individual socio-demographics and neighborhood-level greenspace on older adults’ mental health.

Methods:

Data among 879 respondents aged 60 or older were collected in Dalian, China using spatial stratified random sampling. The older adults’ mental health indicator involved place-related, emotional and evaluable well-being. Greenspace exposure was described through overhead-view, streetscape view and spatial distribution of parks. A machine learning approach was implemented to extract streetscape trees and grasses from the downloaded images. Multilevel regression models were used for data analyses.

Results:

NDVI, greenery coverage rate, street view grasses rate and parks coverage rate are positively correlated with older adults’ mental health, and the associations of exposure metrics measured by the over-head view were stronger than those measured by street view. Street view grasses have a stronger association with older adults’ mental health than street view trees. For socio-demographics, the slope in the relationship between NDVI and mental health among 70s-80s is higher than other elderly groups. And mental health of older adults with low-income was relatively more related to street view grass than other age groups.

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that all greenery measures capture different aspects of natural environments and may contribute to older adults’ mental health by means of different mechanisms. Also, age and income may be an effect modifier of green space affecting mental health due to various opportunities and motivations to access greenspace, and intensity of moderating effect varies at diverse greenery metrics.