Epidemiologists and public health researchers are studying neighborhood's effect on
individual health. The health of older adults may be more influenced by their neighborhoods
as a result of decreased mobility. However, research on neighborhood's influence on
older adults' health, specifically, is limited.
Recent studies on neighborhood and health for older adults were identified. Studies
were identified through searches of databases including PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed,
Academic Search Premier, Ageline, Social Science Citation Index, and Health Source.
Criteria for inclusion were as follows: human studies; English language; study sample
included adults aged > or =55 years; health outcomes, including mental health, health
behaviors, morbidity, and mortality; neighborhood as the primary exposure variable
of interest; empirical research; and studies that included > or =10 neighborhoods.
Air pollution studies were excluded. Five hundred thirty-eight relevant articles were
published during 1997-2007; a total of 33 of these articles met inclusion criteria.
The measures of objective and perceived aspects of neighborhood were summarized. Neighborhood
was primarily operationalized using census-defined boundaries. Measures of neighborhood
were principally derived from objective sources of data; eight studies assessed perceived
neighborhood alone or in combination with objective measures. Six categories of neighborhood
characteristics were socioeconomic composition, racial composition, demographics,
perceived resources and/or problems, physical environment, and social environment.
The studies are primarily cross-sectional and use administrative data to characterize
neighborhood.
These studies suggest that neighborhood environment is important for older adults'
health and functioning.