UMMS Affiliation
UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center; Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Health Statistics and Geography Lab
Publication Date
4-21-2017
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Preventive Medicine | Women's Health
Abstract
Background: Proper levels of physical activity (PA) are important to healthy aging. Little is known about racial differences in influences of neighborhood perceptions (NP) on PA and use of neighborhood resources among community-dwelling older women.
Materials and methods: In 2014 and 2015, 49 white and 44 black women of age 65 and older living in Washington, DC were queried about their PA, NP, use of neighborhood resources and sociodemographic characteristics. They wore an accelerometer and a Global Positioning System device concurrently for 7 consecutive days. Data were analyzed by race.
Results: Compared to Whites, Blacks had lower NP scores (71% positive vs. 77%, p = 0.01), lower mean daily step counts (mean (SD): 3256 (1918) vs. 5457 (2989), p < 0.001), and lower frequencies of all exercise activities combined (19.7 (8.7) vs. 25.2 (11.8) per week, p = 0.01). For both Whites and Blacks, better NPs were associated with more frequent PA both at (p = 0.05) and away from home (p = 0.01). However, better NPs were associated with higher frequencies of exercise activities, moderate-to-high intensity activities, and utilitarian walking for Whites but not Blacks (p < 0.05 for race-perception interaction terms).
Conclusions: In an urban setting, older Black women were more likely than older White women to have poor NPs, less PA, and weaker or no association of positive NPs with higher levels of certain PAs. Such substantial racial differences warrant further investigation and consideration in health promotion programs.
Keywords
race, aging, neighborhood perception, physical activity, women’s health
Rights and Permissions
Copyright Info: © 2017, Wenjun Li, et al., licensee AIMS Press.
DOI of Published Version
10.3934/publichealth.2017.2.149
Source
Wenjun Li, Elizabeth Procter-Gray, Gretchen A. Youssef, Scott E. Crouter, Jie Cheng, Kristen Brown, Linda Churchill, Anthony Clarke, Judith K. Ockene, Michelle F. Magee. Racial Differences in Neighborhood Perceptions and their Influences on Physical Activity among Urban Older Women. AIMS Public Health , 2017, 4(2): 149-170. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2017.2.149. Link to article on publisher's website
Journal/Book/Conference Title
AIMS Public Health
Repository Citation
Li, Wenjun; Procter-Gray, Elizabeth; Youssef, Gretchen A.; Crouter, Scott E.; Cheng, Jie; Brown, Kristen; Churchill, Linda C.; Clarke, Anthony; Ockene, Judith K.; and Magee, Michelle F., "Racial Differences in Neighborhood Perceptions and their Influences on Physical Activity among Urban Older Women" (2017). UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center Publications. 69.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/prc_pubs/69
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Preventive Medicine Commons, Women's Health Commons
