Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil

This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkabil...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello, Alves, Fernando Brandão
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8835329/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35162505
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031483
_version_ 1784649406034739200
author Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello
Alves, Fernando Brandão
author_facet Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello
Alves, Fernando Brandão
author_sort Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello
collection PubMed
description This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkability of older adults, and the direct benefits on health. The 2021 article validated the applicability of the index in the Historic Center of Porto, Portugal. Both articles incorporated the factor ‘slope’, solving a criticism evidenced in related literature about the slope being ignored in older adults’ walking conditions studies. The present study, however, aims to validate the conceptual design of the Walkability Index for Elderly Health (WIEH) in the Brazilian context at the historic center of Vitória. The methodology included the analysis and evaluation of public spaces regarding the pedestrian network—urban fabric, urban scene, and safety—and the presence of slopes and/or stairways. Subsequently, these spaces were classified according to the WIEH, ascertaining their level of adequacy for older adults’ walkability. The results show that paths friendly to older adults are rare and that the problems encountered focus primarily on the low quality of the pedestrian network and not on the existence of slopes and stairways.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8835329
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-88353292022-02-12 Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello Alves, Fernando Brandão Int J Environ Res Public Health Article This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkability of older adults, and the direct benefits on health. The 2021 article validated the applicability of the index in the Historic Center of Porto, Portugal. Both articles incorporated the factor ‘slope’, solving a criticism evidenced in related literature about the slope being ignored in older adults’ walking conditions studies. The present study, however, aims to validate the conceptual design of the Walkability Index for Elderly Health (WIEH) in the Brazilian context at the historic center of Vitória. The methodology included the analysis and evaluation of public spaces regarding the pedestrian network—urban fabric, urban scene, and safety—and the presence of slopes and/or stairways. Subsequently, these spaces were classified according to the WIEH, ascertaining their level of adequacy for older adults’ walkability. The results show that paths friendly to older adults are rare and that the problems encountered focus primarily on the low quality of the pedestrian network and not on the existence of slopes and stairways. MDPI 2022-01-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8835329/ /pubmed/35162505 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031483 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello
Alves, Fernando Brandão
Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
title Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
title_full Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
title_fullStr Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
title_full_unstemmed Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
title_short Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
title_sort application of walkability index for older adults’ health in the brazilian context: the case of vitória-es, brazil
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8835329/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35162505
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031483
work_keys_str_mv AT bonattodanielladoamaralmello applicationofwalkabilityindexforolderadultshealthinthebraziliancontextthecaseofvitoriaesbrazil
AT alvesfernandobrandao applicationofwalkabilityindexforolderadultshealthinthebraziliancontextthecaseofvitoriaesbrazil