Neighborhood Built Environments, Walking, and Self-Rated Health among Low-Income Older Adults in St. Paul, Minnesota

Abstract

There have been few studies exploring the relationship between objective and perceived neighborhood built environments, sustainable neighborhood walking behaviors, and the self-rated health of older, low-income adults. This study examined the association between objective neighborhood environments (i.e., neighborhood heterogeneity categorized by Walk Scores or levels of traffic accidents within a 400 or 800 m radius buffer measured by geographic information systems) and perceived neighborhood environments, through two conceptual frameworks (i.e., an ecological model of health behavior/aging) for walking outcomes (walking choice, walking 3+ days, and walking 150+ min a week) and the self-rated health of older adults living in subsidized housing (N = 130, Mage = 74.9 ± 8.3) in St. Paul, Minnesota. The primary analysis is composed of logistic regression models. Key findings indicated that highly walkable neighborhoods also had a higher level of traffic accidents. Thus, the neighborhoods with higher Walk Scores or a higher level of traffic accidents in separate models became negative predictors for all three walking outcomes, with statistical significance. However, other associations with perceived neighborhood environments resulted in different walking outcomes: accessibility to destinations (+) for walking 3+ days a week and 150+ min a week; safety, comfort, and convenience (+) for walking choice and walking 150+ minutes a week; and physical and social disorder (−) for walking 150+ min a week. Self-rated health had no relationship to objective measures but positive relationships to perceptions of safety, comfort and convenience of neighborhood environments, and every walking outcome in each model. The results of this study should be confirmed in a longitudinal study with a larger sample size covering a wider geographical area.