Evaluation of the “Age-Friendly City” Indicators in Golestan Province from the Perspective of the Elderly Population

Authors
Ali Moradi
Akram Sanagoo
Ali Akbari
Anita Gharajeh
Zahra Talebi
Leila Jouybari
Hossein Nasiri
Fatemeh Mehravar
10.61186/ibj.25th-11th-IACRTIMSS
Abstract
Introduction: Creating age-friendly cities and spaces is one of the fundamental challenges in today's world. This study aims to evaluate age-friendly city indicators from the perspective of the elderly in Golestan Province in 2023.

Methods and Materials: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on individuals aged 60 and above in the counties of Golestan Province. The sample size was 310 participants selected through proportional stratified sampling. Data were collected using the age-friendly city questionnaire, which was validated and reliable for the Iranian population. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, employing independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), chi-square, and Pearson correlation.

Results: The mean age of the participants in this study was 70.34 ± 7.73 years (ranging from 60 to 99), with 64.5% being male. Among the three examined components, respect, and social security had the highest average among the elderly (4.65 ± 17.72), followed by social participation (4.79 ± 16.30) and civic engagement and employment (4.052 ± 12.20). Age-friendly city indicators showed statistically significant differences in variables such as city of residence (p = 0.02), support source (p = 0.009), income level (p = 0.001), and marital status (p = 0.05).

Conclusion and Discussion: The findings of this study indicated that none of the three examined components of age-friendly city indicators in Golestan Province met the necessary standards. Therefore, it is recommended that managers of organizations responsible for the elderly exert more effort to achieve desirable conditions.

Keywords
City planning
Cross-sectional study
Elderly