Objectives: Aging population has become as one of global hot issues and been gradually paid attentions. The study aimed to explore how the elder residents in long term care facilities perceived their community neighborhood environments and the effects on their quality of life.
Methods: Two hundred and twelve elder residents in two long term care facilities were interviewed with a developed structured questionnaire. In terms of the perceptions for community neighborhood environments around the long term care facilities, it covered the dimensions of facility neighborhoods’ holistic environments, leisure landscapes, public settings, community security and development, and barrier-free environment designs. Elder residents’ quality of life was measured as self-rated health status and overall living satisfaction. The elder residents’ personal and living characteristics were also collected as confounding factors. Descriptive, univariate, and multiple regression analyses were performed in this study.
Results: Overall, it was found that the interviewed elder residents rated higher satisfaction on air and street cleanness of community holistic environments; views and green space of leisure landscapes; activities and space of public centers; safety and management of community security and development; and community lighting and fall prevention of barrier-free environment designs. Controlling by elder residents’ personal and living characteristics, it was found that the elder residents’ satisfaction on community security and development was positively related to their overall living satisfaction. However, no statistically
significant relationship was found about the effects of community neighborhood environments on the elder residents’ self-rated health status. In addition, this study revealed that facility living characteristics played a positive role in the elder residents’ overall living satisfaction and self-rated health status.
Conclusion: Perceptions of community security and development played a key role in the elder residents’ living satisfaction. It suggests the relevant national authority could focus more on securing community safety and development surrounding long term care facilities to enhance the elder residents’ living satisfaction.
