Browsing by Author "Curl, Angela"

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Citation Count: 45
Do changes to the local street environment alter behaviour and quality of life of older adults? The 'DIY Streets' intervention
(Bmj Publishing Group, 2014) Thompson, Catharine Ward; Curl, Angela; Aspinall, Peter; Alves, Susana; Zuin, Affonso
Background The burden of ill-health due to inactivity has recently been highlighted. Better studies on environments that support physical activity are called for, including longitudinal studies of environmental interventions. A programme of residential street improvements in the UK (Sustrans 'DIY Streets') allowed a rare opportunity for a prospective, longitudinal study of the effect of such changes on older adults' activities, health and quality of life. Methods Pre-post, cross-sectional surveys were carried out in locations across England, Wales and Scotland; participants were aged 65+ living in intervention or comparison streets. A questionnaire covered health and quality of life, frequency of outdoor trips, time outdoors in different activities and a 38-item scale on neighbourhood open space. A cohort study explored changes in self-report activity and well-being postintervention. Activity levels were also measured by accelerometer and accompanying diary records. Results The cross-sectional surveys showed outdoor activity predicted by having a clean, nuisance-free local park, attractive, barrier-free routes to it and other natural environments nearby. Being able to park one's car outside the house also predicted time outdoors. The environmental changes had an impact on perceptions of street walkability and safety at night, but not on overall activity levels, health or quality of life. Participants' moderate-to-vigorous activity levels rarely met UK health recommendations. Conclusions Our study contributes to methodology in a longitudinal, pre-post design and points to factors in the built environment that support active ageing. We include an example of knowledge exchange guidance on age-friendly built environments for policy-makers and planners.
Citation Count: 27
Outdoor Environmental Supportiveness and Older People's Quality of Life: A Personal Projects Approach
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2016) Curl, Angela; Thompson, Catharine Ward; Alves, Susana; Aspinall, Peter
We present an approach to exploring the role of environmental supportiveness in contributing to older people's quality of life (QoL), based on Little's ecological model (2010) inwhich individual and situational factors influence the personal projects of salience to individuals. Personal projects are self-generated and purpose-oriented activities or goals in which an individual is engaged (Little, 1983). The efficacy with which the pursuit of these activities is achieved depends on the nature of the project and the degree to which it is supported by external factors such as the environment. We explore the relationship between the outdoor environment and QoL, drawing on the concept of "environmental support" as presented by Sugiyama and Ward Thompson (2007a). There is a positive relationship between the number of outdoor personal projects older people participated in and measures indicative of their QoL. The relationship between perceived environmental support and QoL measures was significant in projects involving nature but not for other project types.