Does community belonging matter for older people? It’s not where you live but who you engage with

Background

Positive relationships between community belonging and wellbeing have been found in various populations and contexts. We investigated how community belonging, an individual’s connection to their local community and geographical place, contributes to social capital and wellbeing in older adults.

Methods

We adopted a mixed method design. Using population-based survey data (Trøndelag Health Study4) for participants aged 60+ years (n = 19,000) linked to place of residence (Statistics Norway), we identified 131 individual communities ranked by aggregated level of community belonging. The community unit was operationalized as a contiguous geographic area within a municipality. Secondly, we selected 2 case study communities (1 top decile/1 bottom decile) and in each conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 participants 60 + (5 male/5 female).

Results

Areas with high community belonging, typically rural, had a higher prevalence of participants who reported their health as good and a higher proportion of men, married individuals, and cohabition, compared with low community belonging areas (all comparisons, p < 0.01). Interview data identified 2 patterns of social engagement: those focussing on their local community and others where it was unrelated to residence. The former spoke highly of community belonging fostered by volunteer work and locally rooted social networks while the latter relied on other social settings for social interaction and valued as proximity to services and hiking trails.

Conclusions

Local communities with ‘high’ and ‘low’ community belonging differ in sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported health. Measurement of community social capital should recognize that relying on community boundaries may misrepresent the social capital that people create or rely on. Communities adopt different spaces for social interaction. Interventions should support voluntary organisations, linking social institutions with community infrastructure.

Key messages

• Community belonging is positively associated with self-reported health and associated with greater opportunities for social interaction within a community.

• Healthy aging in local communities requires social interaction that must be adjusted to the place where people live.