Changes in Older Adults’ Frequency of Going Outside between 2020 and 2021: Associations with Health Status and Environmental Factors

ABSTRACT

Objectives

To examine the changes in the frequency of going outside among U.S. older adults between 2020 and 2021 (post-COVID vaccine) and correlates of those changes.

Methods

We used the 2019–2021 National Health and Aging Trend Study (NHATS) (N = 3,063, age 70+) and multinomial logistic regression to analyze associations of increased and decreased frequencies in going outside with physical, psychosocial, and cognitive health, environmental (COVID concerns and transportation) factors, and social media use as the independent variables.

Results

In 2021 compared to 2020, 13% and 16% of those age 70+ reported increased and decreased frequencies, respectively. Increased frequency was associated with social media use. Decreased frequency was associated with poor physical health, depression/anxiety, and perceived memory decline. COVID concerns and transportation problems, as well as female gender, age 90+, and being non-Hispanic Black, were also significant correlates of decreased frequency.

Conclusions

Most U.S. adults age 70+ appear to have resumed their 2019 level of frequency of going outside in 2021 after the COVID vaccines became available; however, 16% reported decreased frequency of going outside in 2021 compared to 2020.

Clinical Implications

Older adults with physical, mental, and cognitive health challenges need help to increase their frequency of going outside.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobility
• Life-space
• going outside
• COVID
• health
• depression/anxiety
• environmen

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declaration statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

This study is based on de-identified public-domain data (The National Health and Aging Trend Study).

Author contributions

Study conceptualization: NGC & BYC; data management: NGC; data analysis and interpretation: NGC & CNM; manuscript draft: NGC & BYC; final editing: NGC, BYC & CNM

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grant, P30AG066614, awarded to the Center on Aging and Population Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin by the National Institute on Aging. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.