Age-friendly cities and communities: access to services for older people

Abstract

Australia's population is ageing rapidly, and our cities and communities need to be prepared to accommodate the needs of this increasing demographic to facilitate ageing in place. Ageing in place – where older people remain active and engaged members of the community – is influenced by access to services in the community. This paper introduces an indicator of access to services for older people that can be used to plan for age-friendly cities. Development of the indicator was informed by qualitative research with older people and key stakeholders. Geographic information systems were used to create the indicator and map locations of key services in relation to population-based ageing demographics in Victoria, Australia. Areas of comparative advantage and disadvantage were identified, with results demonstrating that most regional municipalities had fewer services to access than their metropolitan counterparts. This research provides the first attempt to measure and compare service provision for older people across the state of Victoria.