Senior Victorians and walking:Obstacles and opportunities

Dr Jan GarrardActive Transport Consultant

Walking across the life course…

“Walking is the first thing an infant wants to do and the last thing an older person wants to give up.”

(International Charter for Walking, Walk 21, October 2006).

Summary and full report available from Victoria Walks:http://www.victoriawalks.org.au/Assets/Files/FINALSeniorsFullReport.pdf

Study components

1. Desktop literature review2. Analysis of walking data (VISTA) for

Victorian seniors3. Eight focus group discussions with

senior Victorians 4. Survey of senior Victorians (N = 1128)

This presentation

Draws on selected findings from the four study components covering: Health and social benefits of physical

activity/walking for older adults Senior Victorians’ walking behaviour Supports and constraints on seniors’ walking Creating supportive environments for seniors’

walking

Why promote seniors’ walking?(i) Higher risk of chronic diseases associated with physical inactivity

15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75 +0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Heart Disease(males)Heart Disease (females)Diabetes (males)Diabetes (females)Cancer (males)Cancer (females)

Perc

enta

ge

Proportions of Australians with heart disease, diabetes and cancer(Source: ABS 2012)

(ii) (many!) more seniors...

Historical and projected age profile of the Australian population(Source: CSIRO, 2010, Global Megatrends, Australian Business Foundation Event, 21 July,

2010; based on ABS data)

(iii) Who are less active

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

67 67 6460

54

42

Ade

quat

ely

activ

e (%

)

Physical activity levels (adequately active) by age, Victoria, 2010(Source: Victorian Population Health Survey)

Never too old to be active...“Move more often every day”

(British Heart Foundation 2012)

• Recent activity is the key• Maintaining activity into older age• Getting sedentary individuals active• Benefits outweigh the risks

Walking: senior Victorians’ preferred form of physical activity (ABS 2012)

15–17 18–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65 and over0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45Cycling/BMXing Fitness/Gym Jogging/Running

Swimming/Diving Walking for exercise

Parti

cipa

nts

(%)

Walking for transport

Has all of the health benefits of moderate intensity physical activity and more:* Health, environmental, transport and community

liveability benefits of reduced car use* An ‘incidental’ form of physical activity (PA) for

people who might otherwise be sedentary* A more socially inclusive form of PA than leisure-

time physical activity

Creating supportive environments for transport walking – an investment in health equity

(Source: National Health Survey, ABS 103)

Walking fo

r transp

ort

Walking fo

r fitness,

recre

ation or sport

Moderate

Vigorous

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

First quintile

Second quintile

Third quintile

Fourth quintile

Fifth quintile

Aver

age

min

utes

per

wee

k

The first quintile refers to the most disadvantaged 20% of areas in Australia, and the fifth quintile refers to the most advantaged 20% of areas in Australia based on the ABS SEIFA Index)

Understanding and supporting seniors’ walking

Physical environment

(natural and built)

Policy/regulatory environment

Social/cultural environment

Intra-personal factors

Walking for recreation and

transport

Focus on intra-personal factors (particularly ‘functional decline’) has detracted from other determinants of older adults’ walking, particularly environmental factors

Proportion of trips by walking, age 65 years and over: international comparative

data

Germany Netherlands Denmark (70-85 years)

Victoria0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

34

28

21

14

Prop

ortio

n of

trip

sby

wal

king

(%)

And within Victoria...Proportion of trips by walking for seniors and the overall adult population by metropolitan Melbourne LGA (Source: VISTA 2009-10)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 400

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Walking trips (seniors 60+ years) (%)

Wal

king

trip

s (a

dults

20+

yte

ars)

(%)

What are the obstacles to more senior Victorians walking?

It’s not about attitudes“…the last thing an older person wants to

give up.”(Source: Focus Group Discussions)

“Basic to people – it’s not one of those superficial things.” “I can’t imagine not doing it – it’s part and parcel of my life.”“It would be terrible – stuck all day at home!”“I value my walking very much...I don’t know what I would do. 11 out of 10 – that’s how important it is!”

Or distances seniors are able and prepared to walk

(Source: VISTA 2009-10)

Senior Victorians (60+ years) walk an average of 0.5 (walk-only) trips a day

Mean walking trip distance: 0.9km (seniors) 0.9 km (Victorians aged 20+)

Walking trip distance by age (not statistically significant): 1.0km for 60-69 years 0.9km for 70-79 years 0.7 for 80 years or over

Mean walking trip time: 13.7 minutes (seniors) 12.5 minutes (all adults aged 20 years and over)

Supportive environments for walking in general more seniors walking

Reasons for walking for recreation, exercise or to get to places(0 = No, not important; 1 = Yes, somewhat important; 2 = Yes, moderately important; 3 = Yes, very important)

(Source: Seniors’ Walking Survey)

Because I don't drive a car

Taking the dog for a walk

To get to public transport

I enjoy walking with other people

Walking is more enjoyable than driving

Seeing or chatting with people along the way

Walking has become a habit for me

Interesting/attractive walking routes/destinations

Getting out and about in the neighbourhood

To get around independently

Walking makes me feel good

Getting out in the fresh air

Staying fit so I can look after myself

To improve or maintain my health

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0

0.3

0.8

0.9

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.6

1.7

1.8

2.0

2.1

2.1

2.4

2.4

Mean score

Recreational/transport walking by age(Source: Seniors walking survey)

60-69 70-79 80+0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8076 75

64

4038

50

Recreational walkingTransport walking

Age

% in

age

gro

up w

alki

ng >

1 hr

/wee

k

Seniors’ walking destinations by age(Source: VISTA 2009-10)

Buy something Social/recreational

Personal business Work related Pick-up/deliver something

Serve passenger0

10

20

30

40

50

60

36

31

17

10

42

44

31

19

1 24

54

16

27

0

3

0

40

29

19

6

3 2

60-6970-7980+All seniors

Trip purpose

Perc

ent o

f tri

ps

Constraints on seniors’ walking:walking environments and the behaviour of other

road/path users

Dogs that are off-leash or not under control

Poorly-maintained footpaths (uneven, sloping, slippery or dirty)

Poorly lit footpaths

Drivers failing to give way to pedestrians when they are supposed to

Bicycle riders on shared walking and cycling paths

Not enough public toilets

No footpaths on streets or roads

Obstructions on footpaths

Not enough resting places (eg seats)

Footpaths that are too narrow

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Moderate or major constraint (%)

(Source: Seniors’ Walking Survey)

Factors impacting on feelings of safety while walking(Source: Seniors Walking Survey)

Better cyclist behaviour on shared paths

Reduce cycling speed on shared paths

More emphasis on pedestrian safety in driver education

More policing of drivers yielding rules

40 km/h speed zones in local shopping centres

Traffic alming in residential areas

40 km/h speed zones in residential areas

Attend a safe walking course

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8

1.7

1.5

1.4

1.2

1.1

1.0

0.9

0.5

(0 = No, wouldn’t make me feel any safer; 1 = Yes, a bit safer; 2 = Yes, moderately safer; 3 = Yes, much safer)

Additional walking needs for senior Victorians

Make walking: Attractive

Interesting and attractive routes and destinations (including for utility trips)

Comfortable Shelter (from weather, including shade), seating,

public toilets Appealing

Access to shops, services and public transport Safe

Traffic-related injuries Fall injuries

Pedestrian fatalities by age, Victoria, 2003-2012(Source: TAC Online Crash Database 2012)

0-20 21-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

67

44

60 64

3849

148

Age (years)

Num

ber o

f fat

aliti

es

Are older pedestrians risky road users?

Risky road users?(Source: Michael Nieuwesteeg, Allison McIntyre. “Exploring the pedestrian crash problem from the

perspective of injured pedestrians”. Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference, 31 August-3 September, 2010, Canberra)

Crash type

Pedestrians aged 16-39 Pedestrians aged 60+

% of crashes % of crashes

Pedestrian crossing road 71% 79%

Crossing intersection 35% 46%

Crossing mid-block 34% 27%

Crossing roundabout 3% 7%

Pedestrian not crossing road 29% 21%

TAC survey, pedestrians aged between 16 and 39 years (n = 110) and pedestrians aged 60 years plus (n = 90), pedestrians injured in crashes in 40, 50 and 60 km/h speed zones in Victoria in 2008.

Who was at fault?(younger and older age groups combined)

Driver only Pedestrian only Both parties Unclear

Crossing at intersection 79% 10% 5% 6%

Crossing mid-block 44% 30% 3% 23%

Older pedestrians: more ‘careless’ than younger pedestrians?

Issue 16-39 years 60+ years

Pedestrian at fault 34% 12%Heavy or congested traffic 23% 10%Poor light conditions 46% 26%Raining 8% 11%Tired/fatigued 15% 3%Stressed/anxious 14% 2%Distracted 23% 2%Impaired by alcohol 25% 3%Impaired by drugs 0% NAImpaired mobility NA 8%

‘At-risk’ rather than ‘risk-taking’ Reduced motor, sensory and cognitive abilities which, together with

increased frailty, can increase the risk of pedestrian injury (GOAL Consortium 2012); BUT

Older adults are more cautious and law-abiding pedestrians than younger age groups.

They are not risk-takers, but rather at-risk from the environment they move about in.

Because they are generally careful pedestrians, unexpected incidents (eg cyclists overtaking closely at high speed, unleashed dogs) cause considerable concern, though actual risk of injury is low.

Fall injuries are a greater risk for older adults than younger adults - indications from the study that fall injuries are a greater concern for older adults than traffic injury risks.

Fall injuries among older adults using the public road system

Less is known about the causes of fall injuries while walking in public spaces than traffic collision injuries

Probably outnumber collision injuries by at least a factor of two ‘Trade-off’ between avoiding fall injury or traffic injury (eg gaze

directed at walking surface rather than traffic when crossing roads)

Combination of individual (functional) and environmental factors: Lack of footpaths Poorly designed and/or maintained footpaths Road crossings (placement, design, road user behaviours) Shared paths (design and users – cyclists, other pedestrians,

uncontrolled dogs) Older pedestrians require a Safe System of safer roads,

vehicles, speeds and road user behaviours

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

-4.00

-5.00

-0.90

2.40

-2.8

-4.2-3.5

0.1

Victoria Australia

Drivers Passengers Pedestrians

Cyclists

(Source: BITRE 2012; Victoria Walks - http://www.victoriawalks.org.au/)

Average annual percentage change in fatalities by road user group, 2002-2011

Summary:Supporting older adults to do what they want to do

Many seniors want to walk, for a range of reasons, thus providing multiple motivators:• Health, independence, mobility, social connectedness,

community engagement Create supportive environments:

• Access to shops, services and public transport via walking networks and infrastructure that are safe and perceived to be safe from traffic, falls and assault.

Variations in seniors’ walking rates by LGA in metropolitan Melbourne demonstrate that walking in local neighbourhoods will occur ‘naturally’ and ‘incidentally’ when walking is established as a feasible, appealing, attractive, convenient, safe alternative to car travel for short local trips.

Thank you!