Abstract
With the rapid development of urbanization and the aging population, it is very important to actively promote the construction of a safe, comfortable, convenient, and livable environment for the elderly. Neighborhood built environment has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of older adults. However, from the perspective of the perception of the elderly, few studies exploring the characteristics of the neighborhood-built environment that affect the health of older adults. This paper considers opportunities, challenges, and solutions of using photovoice methods for focusing on one aspect of older people's experiences in the neighborhood-built environment. Photovoice as a research methodology is used in this article, which can offer participants an opportunity to reflect on personal and community strengths, create critical dialogue, share knowledge about personal and community issues, and develop and host discussions for the presentation of their lived experiences and priorities through images, language, and context. This pilot study uses the method of photovoice to explore aspects of the neighborhood-built environment considered by older adults as important in facilitating aging in place. We conducted a photovoice study in which 32 older adults (aged 60 years or more) living in the TJ community, a high-density built environment community in downtown Shanghai, China in 2019. From the perspective of the elderly, each participant was asked to take photos that illustrated age-friendly features they considered essential for supporting their lives in the community. A total of 196 photos were collected. Subsequently, they participated in a follow-up individual interview and discussed the positive or negative built environment that affects their daily activities. All photographs, photo journals, and additional write-ups were then collected, organized, and coded by researchers. The content of the interviews was analyzed by natural language processing and semantic network analysis. And then the processed text was completed by topic coding, creating categories, abstracting. Based on a theoretically informed analysis of the data, the analysis revealed three themes: (1)outdoor space and buildings, (2)transportation, and (3)housing. These themes are the main built environment characteristics that older adults perceive to influence most. Firstly, green space, parks, sidewalks, and squares are the topics most concerned by the elderly. The cleanliness and safety of its outdoor space are seen as a barrier to physical activity and daily walking. Secondly, the quality of housing affects the quality of life of the elderly, and the lack of sunlight in the rooms all year round has an impact on the health of the elderly. Thirdly, a walkable environment and rich street facilities can support older people’s physical activity. In addition, a few themes are more oriented to social context, for example, public participation, social inclusion, peer support. Meanwhile, Photovoice as community-based participatory research shows great potential in the dissemination of vulnerable person relevant voice, and encourage critical dialogue between participants, and city stakeholders.
