[Sharing informal care: What are the considerations?] / Het delen van mantelzorg: wat zijn de overwegingen?

Due to social, political, and demographic developments in Dutch healthcare, the pressure on informal carers of vulnerable, senior citizens living at home continues to increase. To relieve this pressure, people in the senior citizens' social network are looking for ways to share care tasks with others. However, many informal caregivers seem to experience a threshold in this respect. This pilot study focuses on understanding the considerations involved in sharing caregiving tasks with others. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six informal caregivers of single, senior citizens living at home. This study shows that these considerations are characterised by a relationship between informal caregivers' workload, their shyness to ask others for help, and the perception of care recipients' demand, combined with informal caregivers' natural inclination to do it themselves. Feelings of being responsible for the care and behaviour of care recipients, and the choices that must be made for them seem to play an additional role. To develop adequate solutions that lead to sharing informal care with others, and relieving the pressure on informal caregivers, more insight into the (personal) mechanisms behind this sense of responsibility seems necessary.

Redefining Age-Friendly Neighbourhoods: Translating the Promises of Blue Zones for Contemporary Urban Environments.

The longevity and healthy ageing observed in Blue Zones offer valuable insights for contemporary urban neighbourhood planning and design. This paper reviews the age-friendly features of the built environment in Blue Zones, aiming to translate these insights into actionable strategies for urban neighbourhood development. Employing a systematic literature review and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) analysis of Google Street View imagery, this study assesses the built environments in Blue Zones, including housing, public spaces, and transportation systems. Key findings highlight the presence of adaptable housing, building designs that foster a connection with nature, and semi-public spaces that encourage social interaction and physical activity. A notable emphasis on walkability and limited public transport access was observed. The CNN analysis corroborated these findings, providing a quantitative view of age-friendly features. This research contributes to the academic discourse in urban planning and design by providing practical insights for developing age-friendly neighbourhoods, inspired by Blue Zones. It concludes by offering policy advice and future research directions for creating sustainable and inclusive urban environments conducive to ageing populations.

Elucidating and Expanding the Restorative Theory Framework to Comprehend Influential Factors Supporting Ageing-in-Place: A Scoping Review.

Exposure to stress and attention fatigue resulting from changes in capabilities and residing in environments that do not align with individual needs can adversely impact older adults' mental health and complicate ageing-in-place. Research into the psychological restoration process can help assist in alleviating these issues. Existing research on restoration perspectives has predominantly centred on university students and lacks comprehensive insights into older adults. Consequently, this study seeks to acquire a deeper understanding of the restorative theory framework within the context of ageing populations. We identified and analysed thirty-nine papers on the restoration process of older adults employing the scoping review method. Our findings indicate that adjustments to the general restorative theory framework are imperative for ageing populations. By incorporating additional features-such as being with and familiarity-the framework can more effectively support the development of age-inclusive neighbourhoods that enhance the mental health of the older population and facilitate healthy ageing-in-place. While more in-depth research is required on the restoration process of older adults, this research marks the initial in adapting the general framework to ageing populations. Furthermore, insight is given into how the adapted framework can contribute to help address the challenges of global ageing and support ageing-in-place.

Ageing Well in Small Villages: What Keeps Older Adults Happy? Environmental Indicators of Residential Satisfaction in Four Dutch Villages.

This article aims to contribute to the existing literature about liveability in rural areas by explicitly focusing on the level of residential satisfaction of older adults (55+) in four small Dutch villages. We strive not only to identify the key indicators of residential satisfaction among older villagers but also to better understand how these indicators affect their (daily) life. Moreover, in line with the person-environment fit tradition, we differentiate according to the capabilities and vulnerabilities of older villagers. To this end, we use a mixed-method approach, in which we combine survey data with qualitative data collected with photovoice in the four villages. The findings indicate that older adults' perceptions of spatial, social and functional aspects of the living environment are related to the degree of residential satisfaction overall. However, these perceptions appear to be strongly intertwined, especially perceptions about spatial characteristics, local identity and connectedness. Older adults who are hindered by health problems in undertaking daily activities experience a lower level of person-environment fit, which is reflected in a lower level of residential satisfaction. However, this relationship between subjective health and residential satisfaction can only be partially explained by different perceptions of the spatial, social and functional environment.

Where do People Interact in High-rise Apartment Buildings? Exploring the Influence of Personal and Neighborhood Characteristics.

Early studies conclude that high-rise apartment buildings present challenges for people's quality of life, resulting in social isolation, social annoyance and anonymity for residents. Nevertheless, empirical research into factors supporting social interaction in high-rise apartment buildings is still scarce. This study aims to investigate how often and where people in high-rise neighborhoods interact, and how this is affected by personal and neighborhoods characteristics. A mixture of both quantitative and qualitative methods was used including social interaction diaries and questionnaires among 274 residents, in-depth interviews with 45 residents and objective measurement of the physical environments in four high-rise apartment buildings for low in-income people in Hanoi, Vietnam. Results demonstrate that social interaction is influenced by a number of personal and neighborhood characteristics. Furthermore, most social interactions-also gathering and accompanying playing children-take place in the circulation areas of the apartment buildings. However, the use of these spaces for different purposes of interaction is found to have negative impact on people's privacy, the feeling of safety and cleanliness of the shared spaces. The findings of this study provide information for planners and designers on how to design and improve high-rise apartment buildings that support social interaction.