Designing Communities to Support Healthy Living in Aging Residents

The Housing for Health team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the healthy living of older adults who will be moving into the new building. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhood by collaborating with the municipality where the development is located. We will evaluate whether the intervention leads to changes in the perceived, micro-scale, and macro-scale physical built environment (BE), and whether there are impacts on the physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and social connections of residents. In parallel, we will gather qualitative data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the BE may facilitate or hinder resident's healthy living behaviours.

Background: The Housing for Health team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the healthy living of older adults who will be moving into the new building. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhood by collaborating with the municipality where the development is located. We will evaluate whether the intervention leads to changes in the perceived, micro-scale, and macro-scale physical built environment (BE), and whether there are impacts on the physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and social connections of residents. In parallel, we will gather qualitative data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the BE may facilitate or hinder resident's healthy living behaviours.

Methods: This project employs a quasi-experimental pre-post design. The quantitative built environment (BE) evaluation includes assessments of macroscale (e.g., layout of communities) and microscale (e.g., street details and characteristics) changes as measured using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Microscale Audit Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) audits, respectively. For the quantitative resident evaluation, residents moving into the intervention site or who currently live at a control site will be invited to participate. Study outcomes will be measured using self-report (i.e., surveys) and objective tools (i.e., accelerometers, Global Positioning System). The qualitative resident-environment component will be conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews with building residents, family members, and stakeholders involved in the design/development and/or operation of the intervention site and others living in the developments' neighbourhoods. Participant observations will be completed in the building and neighbourhood environments of the intervention site.

Discussion: Findings will provide evidence on whether and how comprehensive changes to the BE of a building, site, and/or neighbourhood of a congregate living facility can impact PA, healthy eating, and social connections of older adults. Successful aspects of interventions will be scaled up in future work. We will disseminate findings to a broad audience including the scientific community via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and discussion panels; and private, public, and non-profit sectors via reports, public presentations and/or communications via our partners and their networks.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Men or women aged 18 years or older that are either moving into the intervention site(s), or living in a control site.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Residents who have been told by a health care provider that they have Alzheimer's or dementia.