Designing Communities to Support Healthy Living in Aging Residents

NCT ID: NCT05031273

Last Updated: 2023-11-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 155 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-03-01
• Study Completion Date: 2023-09-26

Brief Summary

The Housing for Health team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the healthy living of older adults who will be moving into the new building. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhood by collaborating with the municipality where the development is located. We will evaluate whether the intervention leads to changes in the perceived, micro-scale, and macro-scale physical built environment (BE), and whether there are impacts on the physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and social connections of residents. In parallel, we will gather qualitative data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the BE may facilitate or hinder resident's healthy living behaviours.

Detailed Description

Background: The Housing for Health team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the healthy living of older adults who will be moving into the new building. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhood by collaborating with the municipality where the development is located. We will evaluate whether the intervention leads to changes in the perceived, micro-scale, and macro-scale physical built environment (BE), and whether there are impacts on the physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and social connections of residents. In parallel, we will gather qualitative data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the BE may facilitate or hinder resident's healthy living behaviours.

Methods: This project employs a quasi-experimental pre-post design. The quantitative built environment (BE) evaluation includes assessments of macroscale (e.g., layout of communities) and microscale (e.g., street details and characteristics) changes as measured using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Microscale Audit Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) audits, respectively. For the quantitative resident evaluation, residents moving into the intervention site or who currently live at a control site will be invited to participate. Study outcomes will be measured using self-report (i.e., surveys) and objective tools (i.e., accelerometers, Global Positioning System). The qualitative resident-environment component will be conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews with building residents, family members, and stakeholders involved in the design/development and/or operation of the intervention site and others living in the developments' neighbourhoods. Participant observations will be completed in the building and neighbourhood environments of the intervention site.

Discussion: Findings will provide evidence on whether and how comprehensive changes to the BE of a building, site, and/or neighbourhood of a congregate living facility can impact PA, healthy eating, and social connections of older adults. Successful aspects of interventions will be scaled up in future work. We will disseminate findings to a broad audience including the scientific community via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and discussion panels; and private, public, and non-profit sectors via reports, public presentations and/or communications via our partners and their networks.

Conditions

Healthy Aging

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Residents moving into a congregate-living development with more features that support healthy living

Residents moving into a congregate-living development designed for older adults with more design and amenities features in the building, site, and/or neighbourhood that support physical activity, healthy eating, and social connections.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Residents moving into a congregate-living development with more features that support healthy living

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Our team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the physical activity, healthy eating, and social connections of residents moving into the new building(s). We hope for the developer to integrate into the new building(s) as many as possible of our team's built environment design and amenity recommendations into their site and/or building plans. Additionally, discussions with the municipality are also occuring on built environment design and amenity recommendations to improve the neighbourhood surrounding the site. Although our team has provided these recommendations, it is ulimatily up to the discretion of the developer and the municipality as to whether and what design and amenity changes are made.

Residents living in a standard congregate-living development

Residents living in a standard community-based congregate-living development designed for older adults.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Residents moving into a congregate-living development with more features that support healthy living

Our team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the physical activity, healthy eating, and social connections of residents moving into the new building(s). We hope for the developer to integrate into the new building(s) as many as possible of our team's built environment design and amenity recommendations into their site and/or building plans. Additionally, discussions with the municipality are also occuring on built environment design and amenity recommendations to improve the neighbourhood surrounding the site. Although our team has provided these recommendations, it is ulimatily up to the discretion of the developer and the municipality as to whether and what design and amenity changes are made.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Men or women aged 18 years or older that are either moving into the intervention site(s), or living in a control site.

Exclusion Criteria

• Residents who have been told by a health care provider that they have Alzheimer's or dementia.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 110 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Alberta

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Countries

Canada

References

Stearns JA, Ren H, Spence JC, Avedzi H, Lee KK. Protocol for an evaluation of the Designing Communities to Support Healthy Living in Aging Residents Study. Arch Public Health. 2021 Oct 7;79(1):172. doi: 10.1186/s13690-021-00691-4.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 34620222 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

https://www.ualberta.ca/department-of-medicine/divisions/preventive-medicine/housing-for-health/index.html#:~:text=Housing%20for%20Health%20is%20a,in%20Edmonton%2C%20AB%2C%20Canada.&text=The%20Christenson%20Group%20of%20Companies,development%20sites%20for%20the%20project

Housing for Health website

Other Identifiers

1819-HQ-000051

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id