IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v10y2023i1d10.1057_s41599-023-01655-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Teck Hong Tan

    (School of Economics and Management)

  • Izian Idris

    (Sunway Business School)

Abstract

The enforced lockdowns and social distancing measures associated with COVID-19 may have influenced older adults’ preferences towards their homes and neighborhoods as well as social spaces. One objective of this research is to determine whether home and neighborhood environments (“first place”) affect how satisfied older adults are with their lives during the epidemic. This study also examined the extent to which social spaces that exist in the virtual world (“online third places”) affect older adults’ life satisfaction when they would have to practice risk-averse behaviors in times of pandemic. To collect data, this study analyzed the responses of 500 active older adults and conducted in-depth interviews with seven older adults who served as neighborhood leaders in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study found that there is a direct relationship between older adults’ satisfaction with their current housing and their overall life satisfaction during the pandemic. Similarly, having a quality neighborhood nearby increases the likelihood of living a satisfied life during the pandemic. Most online third places, with the exception of instant messaging apps, do not appear to provide older adults with an adequate platform to interact with their friends, participate in social networking, and join communities for emotional support during the pandemic. The findings and recommendations of this study would be very useful in developing effective interventions to promote aging in place during the coronavirus outbreak.

Suggested Citation

  • Teck Hong Tan & Izian Idris, 2023. "Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01655-5
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-01655-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-023-01655-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-023-01655-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jui-che Tu & Kang-Chi Lin & Hong-Yi Chen, 2020. "Investigating the Relationship between the Third Places and the Level of Happiness for Seniors in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-11, February.
    2. Curl, Angela & Mason, Phil, 2019. "Neighbourhood perceptions and older adults’ wellbeing: Does walking explain the relationship in deprived urban communities?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 119-129.
    3. repec:eme:ijhma0:ijhma-01-2015-0001 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. K.M. Gibler & P. Taltavull, 2010. "Using preferences for international retiree housing market segmentation," Journal of Property Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 221-237, July.
    5. Parra, Diana C. & Gomez, Luis F. & Sarmiento, Olga L. & Buchner, David & Brownson, Ross & Schimd, Thomas & Gomez, Viviola & Lobelo, Felipe, 2010. "Perceived and objective neighborhood environment attributes and health related quality of life among the elderly in Bogotá, Colombia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1070-1076, April.
    6. Christopher Ambrey & Christopher Fleming, 2014. "Public Greenspace and Life Satisfaction in Urban Australia," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(6), pages 1290-1321, May.
    7. Ruby Yu & Osbert Cheung & Kevin Lau & Jean Woo, 2017. "Associations between Perceived Neighborhood Walkability and Walking Time, Wellbeing, and Loneliness in Community-Dwelling Older Chinese People in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, October.
    8. Miller, E.A. & Pole, A., 2010. "Diagnosis blog: Checking up on health blogs in the blogosphere," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(8), pages 1514-1519.
    9. Deirdre Pfeiffer & Scott Cloutier, 2016. "Planning for Happy Neighborhoods," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(3), pages 267-279, July.
    10. M. Sirgy & Terri Cornwell, 2002. "How Neighborhood Features Affect Quality of Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 79-114, July.
    11. Teck Hong Tan, 2016. "Neighbourhood satisfaction: responses from residents of green townships in Malaysia," International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(1), pages 137-155, March.
    12. Teck Hong Tan, 2016. "Neighbourhood satisfaction: responses from residents of green townships in Malaysia," International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(1), pages 137-155, March.
    13. Shiwang Yu & Yong Liu & Caiyun Cui & Bo Xia, 2019. "Influence of Outdoor Living Environment on Elders’ Quality of Life in Old Residential Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.
    14. Gaggero, Alessio & Fernández-Pérez, Ángel & Jiménez-Rubio, Dolores, 2022. "Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression in older adults: A panel data analysis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(9), pages 865-871.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chongxian Chen & Weijing Luo & Ning Kang & Haiwei Li & Xiaohao Yang & Yu Xia, 2020. "Study on the Impact of Residential Outdoor Environments on Mood in the Elderly in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Heiko Rüger & Stefanie Hoherz & Norbert F. Schneider & Herbert Fliege & Maria M. Bellinger & Brenton M. Wiernik, 2023. "The Effects of Urban Living Conditions on Subjective Well-Being: The Case of German Foreign Service Employees," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(4), pages 1939-1963, August.
    3. Teck Hong Tan, 2022. "Perceived Environmental Attributes: Their Impact on Older Adults’ Mental Health in Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    4. Teck Hong Tan & Ji Hei Lee, 2022. "Residential environment, third places and well-being in Malaysian older adults," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 721-738, July.
    5. Bojing Liao & Xiang Li, 2023. "Neighborhood Environment and Affective Walking Experience: Cluster Analysis Results of a Virtual-Environment-Based Conjoint Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    6. Jianxi Feng & Shuangshuang Tang & Xiaowei Chuai, 2018. "The impact of neighbourhood environments on quality of life of elderly people: Evidence from Nanjing, China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(9), pages 2020-2039, July.
    7. M. Sirgy & Robin Widgery & Dong-Jin Lee & Grace Yu, 2010. "Developing a Measure of Community Well-Being Based on Perceptions of Impact in Various Life Domains," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 295-311, April.
    8. Yu-Chuan Chen & Yung-Ho Chiu & Tzu-Han Chang & Tai-Yu Lin, 2023. "Sustainable Development, Government Efficiency, and People’s Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1549-1578, April.
    9. Andrés Ham Gonzalez, 2011. "La Calidad de Vida en los Barrios de Buenos Aires: Estimaciones Hedónicas de la Valuación de los Amenities Urbano y su Distribución Espacial," Department of Economics, Working Papers 088, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    10. Jorge J. Varela & Javier Guzmán & Jaime Alfaro & Fernando Reyes, 2019. "Bullying, Cyberbullying, Student Life Satisfaction and the Community of Chilean Adolescents," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(3), pages 705-720, July.
    11. Alloush, Mo & Bloem, Jeffrey R., 2022. "Neighborhood violence, poverty, and psychological well-being," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Tilman Brück & Neil T. N. Ferguson, 2020. "Money can’t buy love but can it buy peace? Evidence from the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE II)," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 37(5), pages 536-558, September.
    13. Kamila Ziółkowska-Weiss, 2021. "Satisfaction with Selected Indicators of the Quality of Urban Space by Polonia in the Greater Toronto Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-23, July.
    14. Hong Leng & Bingbing Han, 2022. "Effect of Environmental Planning on Elderly Individual Quality of Life in Severe Cold Regions: A Case Study in Northeastern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, March.
    15. Florent Sari, 2020. "Spatial disparities in accessibility to recreational amenities: the case of Pokémon GO," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 64(2), pages 389-419, April.
    16. Matthew D Rablen, 2012. "The promotion of local wellbeing: A primer for policymakers," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 27(3), pages 297-314, May.
    17. Mahbubur Meenar & Bradley Flamm & Kevin Keenan, 2019. "Mapping the Emotional Experience of Travel to Understand Cycle-Transit User Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Yalcin Yildirim & Diane Jones Allen & Amy Albright, 2019. "The Relationship between Sound and Amenities of Transit-Oriented Developments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-19, July.
    19. Marc Audi & Amjad Ali, 2023. "The Role of Environmental Conditions and Purchasing Power Parity in Determining Quality of Life among Big Asian Cities," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(3), pages 292-305, May.
    20. Gustavo Ahumada & Victor Iturra & Mauricio Sarrias, 2020. "We Do Not Have the Same Tastes! Evaluating Individual Heterogeneity in the Preferences for Amenities," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 53-74, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01655-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.