Abstract
Cities are experiencing a demographic shift towards an increasingly older population (Eurostat, 2023). Aroud the globe, over 1100 cities joined the Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities of the World Health Organization (WHO), funded after 2007 when Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide was published. Domains such as health care and community support, social environment, outdoor places, and transportation are integral parts of the age-friendly agenda. The current work describes the process of validation of a quantitative assessment tool for measuring urban communities’ age-friendliness – the AFCCQ (Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire), with a focus on two cities: Bucharest (Romania) and Verona (Italy). This instrument consists of 23 items, which could assist municipalities and local authorities in collecting baseline data relating to their city using older adults’ evaluations. Following a three steps protocol of cross-cultural validation, which included back and forward translation, initial face validation (with experts and older adults, and the final validation process, the AFFCQ-IT and the AFCCQ-RO were used to investigate older people’s views on age-friendliness in the two cities. Data were collected from two samples of older adults (65+) (N= 424 in Bucharest; N=400 in Verona) and were interpreted using cluster analysis. Results revealed four categories of older adults (personas) having different expectations and evaluations of the quality of city life. We discuss the findings having in mind the link between age-friendly urban policies and social inclusion, arguing that older adults are a heterogeneous population experiencing different needs and challenges while aging in urban communities.
Presenters
Michele BertaniAssistant Professor, Department of Economics, Ca' Foscari University, Venezia, Italy Loredana Ivan
Professor, Communication Department, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucuresti, Romania
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Public Policy and Public Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Age-friendly city, Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire, Social Inclusion
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