Understanding Older Adults’ Usage of Community Green Spaces in Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Section
2.1. Data Collection
2.1.1. Direct Observation
2.1.2. Structured Interviews
2.2. Data Analysis
2.2.1. System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) Analysis
2.2.2. Interview Analysis
- ‘Addresses basic needs’ encourages communities to provide adequate housing, safety, food, and services for older adults.
- ‘Promotes social and civic engagement’ emphasizes the importance of opportunities for older adults to strengthen and build social relationships, be involved in the community, engage in meaningful work, and have their voices heard.
- ‘Optimizes physical and mental health and wellbeing’ recommends that communities support healthy practices by offering activities that promote health and wellbeing, and increase the availability of preventative, medical, and social services for older adults.
- ‘Maximizes independence for frail and disabled’ advises that community resources be used to ensure that frail and disabled older adults can live independently in their community.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. System for Observing Parks and Recreation Communities (SOPARC) Results
Variable | n (%) | |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Female | 685 (55.6%) | |
Male | 542 (44.0%) | |
Incomplete | 4 (0.3%) | |
Age Group | ||
Child (0–12 years of age) | 153 (12.4%) | |
Teen (13–17 years of age) | 40 (3.2%) | |
Adult (18–59 years of age) | 265 (21.5%) | |
Older Adult (60+ years of age) | 755 (61.3%) | |
Incomplete | 18 (1.5%) | |
Activity Level | ||
Sedentary | 169 (13.7%) | |
Walking | 449 (36.5%) | |
Moderate | 94 (7.6%) | |
Vigorous | 449 (36.5%) | |
Incomplete | 47 (3.8%) |
Variable | n (%) | |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Female | 445 (58.9%) | |
Male | 309 (40.9%) | |
Incomplete | 1 (0.1%) | |
Activity level | ||
Sedentary | 68 (9.0%) | |
Walking | 304 (40.3%) | |
Vigorous | 266 (35.2%) | |
Moderate | 77 (10.2%) | |
Incomplete | 40 (5.3%) |
Primary Activity | n (%) | ||
Walking | 282 (37.4%) | ||
Dance class (including: ballroom dance, aerobic dance class) | 127 (16.8%) | ||
Group exercise class (other than dance or chi-based class) | 138 (18.3%) | ||
Eastern style exercise/movement classes based on traditional beliefs about Chi energy (e.g., chi gong, tai chi, yuan chi) whether individually or in a group | 78 (9.9%) | ||
Sitting/socializing | 21 (2.3%) | ||
Other (e.g., badminton, lawn bowling, Frisbee, stretching) | 16 (2.1%) | ||
Activity at children’s playground area | 15 (2.0%) | ||
Missing | 78 (10.3%) | ||
TOTAL | 755 | ||
Secondary Activity | n (%) | ||
Running/cycling | 207 (27.4%) | ||
Walking | 68 (9.0%) | ||
Sitting/socializing | 32 (4.2%) | ||
Exercise machines | 21 (2.8%) | ||
Not available | 427 (56.6%) | ||
TOTAL | 755 |
Age Group | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Child (f/m/?) | Teen (f/m/?) | Adult (f/m/?) | Older Adult (f/m/?) | Uncertain (f/m/?) | Total | |||
Time of Day | Morning | Count | 65 (30/35/0) | 1 (0/1/0) | 148 (100/47/1) | 630 (384/245/1) | 11 (7/4/0) | 855 |
Row% | 7.6% | 0.1% | 17.3% | 73.7% | 1.3% | |||
Afternoon | Count | 88 (28/60/0) | 39 (2/37/0) | 117 (69/46/2) | 125 (61/64/0) | 7 (4/3/0) | 376 | |
Row% | 23.4% | 10.4% | 31.1% | 33.2% | 1.9% | |||
Total | Count | 153 | 40 | 265 | 755 | 18 | 1,231 | |
Row% | 12.4% | 3.2% | 21.5% | 61.3% | 1.5% |
Organized? | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No (f/m/?) | Yes (f/m/?) | ||||
Child & Teen | Morning | Count | 29 (11/18/0) | 37 (19/18/0) | 66 |
Row% | 43.9% | 56.1% | |||
Afternoon | Count | 92 (28/64/0) | 35 (2/33/0) | 127 | |
Row% | 72.4% | 27.6% | |||
Subtotal | Count | 121 | 72 | 193 | |
Row% | 62.7% | 37.3% | |||
Adult | Morning | Count | 80 (45/34/1) | 68 (55/13/0) | 148 |
Row% | 54.1% | 45.9% | |||
Afternoon | Count | 97 (56/39/2) | 20 (13/7/0) | 117 | |
Row% | 82.9% | 17.1% | |||
Subtotal | Count | 177 | 88 | 265 | |
Row% | 66.8% | 33.2% | |||
Older adult | Morning | Count | 275 (116/158/1) | 355 (268/87/0) | 630 |
Row% | 43.7% | 56.3% | |||
Afternoon | Count | 122 (58/64/0) | 3 (3/0/0) | 125 | |
Row% | 97.6% | 2.4% | |||
Subtotal | Count | 397 | 358 | 755 | |
Row% | 52.6% | 47.4% | |||
Combined | Morning | Count | 384 | 460 | 844 |
Row% | 45.5% | 54.5% | |||
Afternoon | Count | 311 | 58 | 369 | |
Row% | 84.3% | 15.7% | |||
Total | Count | 695 | 518 | 1,213 | |
Row% | 57.3% | 42.7% |
Activity Level | Organized? | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No (f/m/?) | Yes (f/m/?) | ||||
Sedentary | Child & Teen | Count | 14 (10/4/0) | 26 (12/14/0) | 40 |
Row% | 35.0% | 65.0% | |||
Adult | Count | 32 (24/8/0) | 28 (20/8/0) | 60 | |
Row% | 53.3% | 46.7% | |||
Older adult | Count | 48 (35/13/0) | 20 (14/6/0) | 68 | |
Row% | 70.6% | 29.4% | |||
Subtotal | Count | 94 | 74 | 168 | |
Row% | 56.0% | 44.0% | |||
Walking | Child & Teen | Count | 40 (16/24/0) | 9 (6/3/0) | 49 |
Row% | 81.6% | 18.4% | |||
Adult | Count | 110 (66/41/3) | 4 (3/1/0) | 114 | |
Row% | 96.5% | 3.5% | |||
Older adult | Count | 287 (114/172/1) | 17 (11/6/0) | 304 | |
Row% | 94.4% | 5.6% | |||
Subtotal | Count | 437 | 30 | 467 | |
Row% | 93.6% | 6.4% | |||
Moderate to | Child & Teen | Count | 64 (12/52/0) | 37 (3/34/0) | 101 |
Vigorous | Row% | 63.4% | 36.6% | ||
Adult | Count | 33 (11/22/0) | 54 (44/10/0) | 87 | |
Row% | 37.9% | 62.1% | |||
Older adult | Count | 40 (14/26/0) | 303 (235/68/0) | 343 | |
Row% | 11.7% | 88.3% | |||
Subtotal | Count | 137 | 394 | 531 | |
Row% | 25.8% | 74.2% |
3.2. Interview Results
What types of activities do you like to participate in public parks? 1 | ||
Walking | 9 | |
Stretching | 4 | |
Morning exercise | 3 | |
Dancing | 3 | |
Using equipment | 3 | |
Chi gong | 2 | |
Warm up | 2 | |
Other (e.g., biking, petanque, badminton, frisbee) | 8 | |
How often do you participate in these activities? | ||
Every day | 9 | |
Almost every day | 2 | |
5 to 6 times a week | 4 | |
2 to 4 times a week | 3 | |
Only when the weather is good | 1 | |
Missing | 1 | |
How long do you participate in these activities? | ||
Less than 1 h | 4 | |
1 h | 5 | |
1.5 to 2.5 h | 6 | |
3 to 4 h | 1 | |
Missing | 3 | |
How long have you been coming to the public parks? | ||
6 months | 1 | |
2 to 4 years | 2 | |
More than 10 years | 3 | |
20 to 25 years | 2 | |
30 or more years | 2 | |
Missing | 9 | |
How do you get to the public parks? | ||
Walk | 12 | |
Bike | 3 | |
Motorcycle | 2 | |
Missing | 2 | |
How long did it take you to get to the public park? | ||
6 min or less to walk | 4 | |
10 to 15 min to walk | 5 | |
Over 15 min to walk | 1 | |
3 to 5 min to bike | 1 | |
10 to 15 min to bike | 1 | |
1 km | 1 | |
Missing | 6 | |
What form of transportation do you use for regular daily activities? 1 | ||
Walk | 4 | |
Bike | 2 | |
Bus or metro | 4 | |
Motorcycle | 1 | |
Missing | 12 | |
Do you bring children or grandchildren with you to the public parks? | ||
Yes | 7 | |
No | 7 | |
Missing | 5 | |
Do you have friends that exercise? | ||
Yes | 8 | |
Some | 1 | |
No | 1 | |
Missing | 9 |
Theme/Subtheme | Description | Example Quote(s) |
---|---|---|
Addresses basic needs | ||
Housing proximity | Two interview participants commented on the proximity of community green spaces as an influential factor in deciding where to live in Taipei. Participants conveyed that the green spaces were the reason why they ‘moved’ or ‘bought a house’ in the area. | “I bought the house because it’s close to the park. People like to come here and exercise, that’s why we live close to the park.” |
Three participants noted that living near the green spaces had some bearing on their decision to visit the spaces. One participant mentioned that living far away influenced why people chose not to visit. | “This park is near my home.” “My neighbors think it’s too far to walk to the park, so they don’t come here.” | |
Safety | Safety was also mentioned as a basic need that factored into participants’ decision to come to the green spaces. Three participants believed the green spaces were safe. | “And this park is safe.” |
Promotes social and civic engagement | ||
Social engagement | Thirteen interview participants spoke of the social interactions that occur at the community green spaces. | “I feel that our dancing group is like a big family, we love being here.” “Also, I like the friends I made here in the park.” |
Two participants listed ‘socializing’ or ‘chatting with friends’ as one of the activities that they like to do while at these spaces. | “I like to walk around the park, and I spend time with friends.” | |
Social engagement was part of the participants’ daily routine at the community green spaces and was described by one participant as ‘a habit’. | “We like to come here to meet friends and exercise. It keeps us healthy, and it has become a habit to meet friends in the park.” | |
Community involvement | Thirteen participants highlighted a wide range of community activities offered by the green spaces (e.g., praise dance, chi gong, petanque (a form of bowls resembling bocce), badminton, frisbee, yoga). | “There are so many things happening here, for example, you can see people singing Taiwanese opera, children playing on the machines, older adults doing morning exercises…” |
Responses indicated that these activities support community involvement after retirement. Three participants mentioned that they have a lot more spare time now compared to when they were in the work force. | “I don’t have to work and I have a lot of time, so I wake up early and come to the park.” | |
Two participants contrasted their use of the green spaces against people they knew who ‘stayed at home all the time’ or are ‘couch potatoes’. | “We are getting old and we have a lot of free time, we shouldn’t stay at home all the time.” | |
For three participants, the presence of group activities in the green spaces attracted new people to visit the spaces and join in the activities. | “When I came to this park and saw this dance group, I found them interesting so I joined them.” | |
Optimizes physical and mental health and wellbeing | ||
Age and physical health | Fourteen participants responded that they exercise to be healthy. | “It’s good for your health, and you don’t get sick easily.” |
Five participants spoke of the connection between age, exercise and physical health. This included the importance of physical activity to maintain health as you age. | “I started exercise because I was getting old. I wanted to keep healthy.” | |
Two participants commented on how being active and ‘moving’ was what it meant to live. | “Because we should move to live. We should exercise.” | |
One participant noted that physical activity helped older adults feel younger. | “Because we are getting old, exercise makes us feel healthy and younger.” | |
Four participants expressed that they had more time to be physically active because of their age and the fact that they are retired. | “And after I retired 5 years ago, I started to exercise. Before retirement, I was too busy at work; I didn’t have time to exercise.” | |
Optimizes physical and mental health and wellbeing | ||
Health-promoting activities | Ten interview participants commented on how community green spaces support activities that promote health and wellbeing such as walking, bicycling, chi gong, yoga, dance, badminton and stretching. | “Before the park [was] built I went mountain hiking every morning. And now I benefit from this park, I come here for the fresh air, and it’s a great place for people to do exercise.” |
Participants also spoke to the green spaces offering structured activities as well as being a place participants can engage in unstructured activities of their own. Ten participants mentioned structured activities such as badminton, petanque, dance class, and yoga. Eleven participants mentioned unstructured activities such as jogging, walking, and stretching. | “I came here and saw people doing Yoga, so I just joined them. I think Yoga is the best exercise for me.”; “I swing my arms for about an hour in the morning, and I come here to walk around the park for about 30 min… I don’t really have a schedule of doing exercise.” | |
Four participants commented on how the building and maintenance of the green spaces by the government specifically helped to support health-promoting activities. | “The government has built many nice parks for us.” | |
Mental wellbeing | In addition to the physical benefits, three participants also noted how engaging in park activities has had a positive effect on their mental wellbeing. Participants associated ‘happiness’ and ‘self-achievement’ with exercise. | “Playing petanque makes me healthy and happy. Also, I feel self-achieved when I play petanque.” |
Maximizes independence for frail and disabled | ||
Three interview participants conveyed how the activities and resources of the green spaces accommodate any disabilities and/or impairments that have accompanied old age. | “But after going mountain hiking for 5 years, my knees got weaker, so I now don’t go mountain hiking. I walk around in this neighborhood instead.”; “I do all kinds of stretching [on] the equipment. We are getting old, and sometimes we have backache. Doing stretching will [relieve] the backache.” | |
Three participants acknowledged that park activities are good alternatives to the activities they use to enjoy when they were younger. | “When I was young, I did all kinds of exercises. But after I am retired, I found petanque is an interesting and healthy exercise, also, it’s a good exercise for older adults.” |
3.3. Discussion
3.3.1. Addresses Basic Needs
3.3.2. Promotes Social and Civic Engagement
3.3.3. Optimizes Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing
3.3.4. Maximizes Independence for Frail and Disabled
3.4. Lessons from Taipei
- (1)
- Make green spaces accessible to older adults. In established communities ensuring that green spaces are in close proximity to older adult residences may not be easy to arrange, but supports can be put in place to ensure that these green spaces are accessible (e.g., providing transportation to these spaces or places close to these spaces). Ensuring that green spaces are available within walking distance to residential areas for older adults should become a standard part of city planning. Although a short walking distance to parks facilitates the use of these spaces for some older adults, further research may be needed to determine the effect walking distance has on park use for older adults with different physical capacities (e.g., use of a walker or wheelchair). In addition, future research should explore what distance and travel time older adults perceive to be too far to walk to access not only green spaces but also other amenities.
- (2)
- Provide opportunities for a variety of structured activities that appeal to older adults, particularly in the morning. Practitioners should be encouraged to provide a variety of structured and unstructured activities in community green spaces to support older adult participation and community engagement. As in Taipei, activity instructors might be permitted to teach informal classes. While providing these types of activities may not be feasible where weather is a barrier to outdoor activities, there is the potential for these activities to be provided in indoor community park spaces (e.g., recreation facilities, malls, libraries) in the winter months. If such indoor spaces are located in close proximity to green spaces, all the better.
- (3)
- Equip green spaces for age-appropriate physical activity. In this study, the SOPARC data revealed that green spaces were accessible, equipped and supervised. Interview participants indicated being satisfied with how the Taipei government equipped green spaces, including rehabilitation equipment, to support health-promoting activities.
- (4)
- Promote the health and social advantages of green spaces to older adults. Taipei has the advantage of an established culture that supports and promotes the use of green spaces by older adults. That usage is maintained by high residential density, by a tradition of organized classes in martial arts and dancing, and by family networks that promote the care of children by grandparents. In addition, the historical and religious links between Confucian ideas of discipline and duty may extend to a belief that a disciplined body is an important personal responsibility. This may in turn confer a strong advantage in promoting the use of green spaces in Taipei over non-Asian cities. In absence of these more traditional and cultural supports, a more concerted and intensive health promotion effort may be required to establish a critical mass of activities and participants within green spaces that are sustainable. In places where green space usability varies with the seasons, these health promotion efforts may also need to be seasonal, or may need to consider using a mix of outdoor and indoor spaces.
3.5. Strengths and Limitations
3.5.1. Strengths
3.5.2. Limitations
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Material
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Share and Cite
Pleson, E.; Nieuwendyk, L.M.; Lee, K.K.; Chaddah, A.; Nykiforuk, C.I.J.; Schopflocher, D. Understanding Older Adults’ Usage of Community Green Spaces in Taipei, Taiwan. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11, 1444-1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110201444
Pleson E, Nieuwendyk LM, Lee KK, Chaddah A, Nykiforuk CIJ, Schopflocher D. Understanding Older Adults’ Usage of Community Green Spaces in Taipei, Taiwan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2014; 11(2):1444-1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110201444
Chicago/Turabian StylePleson, Eryn, Laura M. Nieuwendyk, Karen K. Lee, Anuradha Chaddah, Candace I. J. Nykiforuk, and Donald Schopflocher. 2014. "Understanding Older Adults’ Usage of Community Green Spaces in Taipei, Taiwan" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 11, no. 2: 1444-1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110201444