Psychosocial Well-Being of the Elderly and Their Perception of Matured Estate in Singapore

This article explores various relationships between the elderly's psychosocial well-being and components of aging-friendly community (continuity, compensation, connection, challenge, and contribution), in order to understand their perception of a matured estate and to discuss implications in housing neighborhood urban design. Interviews with elderly residents living in Bukit Merah (Redhill), one of the matured housing estates in Singapore with a high percentage of elderly residents, were conducted to understand how eldercare infrastructure and social spaces developed within the fabric of a high-rise, high-density public housing estate can support or inhibit their psychosocial well-being, as indicated by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Our results postulate that different groups of elderly form friendships and participate in activities in both formal social service centers and informal public spaces. The friendships formed in these places and the convenience of amenities around their houses may affect their perception of their current residences. While the elderly residents are generally satisfied with physical infrastructure, a comprehensive, integrated urban design is further needed to facilitate physical activities, social interactions, and active aging in the elderly in order to enhance their psychosocial well-being.     

Pathways to age-friendly communities in diverse urban neighborhoods: Do social capital and social cohesion matter?

ABSTRACT

Using a social capital and social cohesion lens, we reposition the concept of civic engagement among older adults to examine pathways for building age-friendly communities. We analyzed data drawn from a Community-Based Participatory Research study in the Southern U.S. that explored lived experiences of older adults, age 55 and above, who participated in individual interviews (n = 15) and six focus group discussions (n = 45) to examine their perceptions of social identity, social connectedness, and civic engagement geared toward an age-friendly city. Findings indicated that several older adults had access to social networks and socially invested resources, thereby having opportunities for civic engagement and building age-friendly neighborhoods. However, social, cultural, linguistic, and structural barriers were more evident among certain diverse ethnic populations. Marginalized low-income minorities and immigrants, such as Hispanic participants, felt the lack of social cohesion among the larger society limited their ability to give back, thus decreasing their civic engagement activities. In contrast, Caucasian and African-American older adults were able to contribute to the political process through more civic participation activities. We provide implications for examining the role of social capital and social engagement to bolster civic engagement among older adults in building age-friendly communities.     

Getting Started: An Empirically Derived Logic Model for Age-Friendly Community Initiatives in the Early Planning Phase

Age-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs) foster efforts across stakeholders to make localities more supportive and inclusive of older adults, and potentially better for residents of all ages. This study drew on in-depth interviews with leaders of nine newly forming AFCIs in northern New Jersey to develop an empirically based logic model for the initiatives in the early planning phase. The results obtained from a conventional content analysis indicated three main activities in the early planning phase: assessing the community; meeting; and communicating with stakeholders; and facilitating communitywide communications. These activities worked toward two outputs: increased understanding of aging in the community and more engaged stakeholders in aging. Participants described leveraging the contributions of lead staff, consultants, elected officials, organizational partners, volunteers, interns, funders, and other AFCIs to engage in their focal activities. Based on these findings, a logic model for AFCIs in the early planning phase is presented. AFCI leaders can draw on this model to evaluate AFCI processes and outcomes in their formative stages, as well as to strategically plan for the start of an AFCI within a given locality. Findings also suggest important directions for future research on the development of AFCIs and the community changes that they seek to influence.     

老龄数字鸿沟根源剖判与数字包容社会构建方略

近年来,数字信息技术革命高歌猛进,随之而来的数字鸿沟、数字排斥及数字贫困使得老龄群体的社会生存举步维艰,加之“数字弱势性”不会随科技更新与代际更迭自行消失,反而会随数字化程度的提高使得数字资源的分布更加不均衡,对于老龄群体会造成更加普遍的歧视。为推进老龄友好型数字包容社会建设,以伦理现实二维框架为分析视角,着重探讨数字鸿沟存在与产生的社会根源及演进机制,探讨老年友好型数字包容社会的建构方略,得出基于强化数字权能、细化社会支持、优化公共服务3个维度从根本上改善老龄群体数字弱势性的结论。     

Aging Well at Home: Evaluation of a Neighborhood-based Pilot Project to “Put Connection Back into Community”

There is growing interest, in the United States and globally, to transform communities to become more aging friendly. However, the majority of emerging initiatives lack a formal evaluation component, limiting our understanding of their effectiveness and the ability to replicate them. This study is an evaluation of a pilot project, the Aging Well at Home (AWAH) Program, which aimed to “put connection back into community” to support the psychological well-being of urban seniors who were aging in place. We examined AWAH's effect on stress, loneliness, and depression through interviews with 33 seniors at enrollment and at 9 months later. Findings revealed a significant decline in participants’ perceived stress (p < .001); however, AWAH was less successful in lessening loneliness (p < .09) and was not associated with any change in depression (p > .33). In self-assessments, the majority of participants reported a greater sense of self-efficacy and social connection as a result of AWAH participation. The study offers preliminary evidence of the utility of a neighborhood approach to improving older adults’ quality of life.