Functioning and environment: Exploring outdoor activity-friendly environments for older adults with disabilities in a Chinese long-term care facility

ABSTRACT

Older adults with disabilities are very dependent on the physical environment, but evidence concerning outdoor activity-friendly environments is limited. This study developed the functioning and environment model to analyse the interactions among body functions and structures (physiological or psychological functions of body systems and anatomical parts of the body), outdoor environments, and outdoor activities in older adults with disabilities. Demographic and health surveys of older adults (N = 95), interviews with older adults (N = 95) and staff members (N = 28), and behavioural observations of older adults (N = 12) were conducted at a typical Chinese long-term care facility. Environmental needs were revealed by thematic analysis in five themes: natural environments with positive sensory stimuli, accessible and personalized gardening spaces, safe and comfortable walking environments, spaces and equipment for playful exercise, and gathering spaces mixing diverse people. The results showed that the outdoor environment could facilitate outdoor activities by compensating for impairments and utilizing remaining body functions and structures, which could further improve body functions and structures. This study enriches understanding of the relationship between functioning and the environment, providing a new perspective for interdisciplinary cooperation between medical and design fields on environments for healthy ageing.

KEYWORDS:

• Health
• functioning
• outdoor environment
• activity-friendly
• ICF
• older adult

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Shunxi Zhang and Songbin Chen from Guangzhou First People’s Hospital (Second Affiliated Hospital of the South China University of Technology) for their help with the development of the demographic and health survey and Tongyue Zhou, Yiman Li and Jingjing Yan for their assistance with data collection.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China: [Grant Number 2017YFC0702905-03].