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Description
Remaining independent, active, healthy, and mobile is essential for older adults’ quality of life (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2010). However, older people’s ability to maintain their well-being as they age relies on a range of material and social factors (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2010). Research and practice have long focused on developing and implementing quality of life indicators with the goal of centering well-being in decision making (Abou-Zeid, 2009; De Vos et al., 2013; Ettema et al., 2011; Nordbakke & Schwanen, 2014). Tools and methods evaluating people’s subjective well-being have become increasingly popular in the past decades (e.g., Diener et al. (1985); Diener et al. (2010)), and travel is explored as one of the many dimensions that make up this evaluation of well-being (De Vos et al., 2013). This study uses the Aging in Place Survey to examine the factors influencing older adults’ evaluation of the contribution of daily travel on their quality of life in Canada using a mixed-methods approach. The Aging in Place survey is an online bilingual survey conducted by the Transportation Research at McGill (TRAM) group. The survey gathers information on the travel needs and experiences of older adults (65 years and older) across six metropolitan regions in Canada, including Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Halifax, Victoria, and Saskatoon. Multiple recruitment strategies were employed to ensure a large and representative sample as proposed by Dillman et al. (2014). Flyers were distributed at senior and community centers, the survey was advertised on social media and using senior center mailing lists, team members gave newspaper and radio interviews, and additional respondent recruitment was done through Léger, a market research and analytics company specialized in public opinion surveys. Data collection was completed in Winter 2023. The ordered probit model (N = 2,342) for agreement with daily travel contributing positively to their quality of life shows that agreement was higher among older adults who use public transit frequently, enjoy travelling independently, live in walkable areas, and are satisfied with their lives and physical health. In-depth interviews (N = 56) corroborate these quantitative findings and reveal additional considerations such as the importance of walking for mental and physical health, as well as the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults’ travel-related quality of life. In addition to supportive physical and social environments, ensuring adequate transport options are available for their essential needs, leisure activities and the simple pleasure of travelling is key in enhancing older adults’ quality of life now and as they age. The findings improve our grasp of older adults’ conceptualization of their travel’s impact on their quality of life. Though many of the quantitative and qualitative results echo each other, the thematic analysis adds important nuance to the probit model findings and uncovers new dimensions of older adults’ daily travel and associated well-being, supporting the value of using mixed methods to address complex concepts. The results of this study could be of interest to policy makers and community leaders wanting to address the well-being of older adults.
References
Abou-Zeid, M. (2009). Measuring and modeling activity and travel well-being Massachusetts Institute of Technology].
De Vos, J., Schwanen, T., Van Acker, V., & Witlox, F. (2013). Travel and Subjective Well-Being: A Focus on Findings, Methods and Future Research Needs. Transport Reviews, 33(4), 421-442. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2013.815665
Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen, R., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of personality assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social indicators research, 97, 143-156.
Dillman, D., Smyth, J., & Christian, L. (2014). Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (4 ed.). Wiley.
Ettema, D., Gärling, T., Eriksson, L., Friman, M., Olsson, L., & Fujii, S. (2011). Satisfaction with travel and subjective well-being: Development and test of a measurement tool. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 14(3), 167-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2010.11.002
Hooyman, N., & Kiyak, A. (2010). Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective (9 ed.). Pearson.
Nordbakke, S., & Schwanen, T. (2014). Well-being and Mobility: A Theoretical Framework and Literature Review Focusing on Older People. Mobilities, 9(1), 104-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2013.784542
| Keywords | Quality of life, daily travel, older adults, well-being |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
