Evaluation of "Age-Friendly City" Indicators in Golestan Province From the Perspective of the Older Adult Population

Objectives: To evaluate age-friendly city indicators from the perspective of the older adults in Golestan province in 2023. Design: A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study. Setting(s): Golestan province, Iran. Participants: Individuals aged 60 years and above. Outcome measures: A sample of 310 participants was selected using proportional stratified sampling. Data were collected with a validated age-friendly city questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the participants in this study was 70.34±7.73 years (ranging from 60 to 99), with 64.5% being male. Among the three examined components, the component of respect and social security had the highest average among the older adults (4.65±17.72), followed by social participation (4.79±16.30) and civic engagement and employment (4.052±12.20). Agefriendly city indicators demonstrated statistically significant differences in variables such as city of residence (P=0.02), support source (P=0.009), income level (P=0.001), and marital status (P=0.05). Conclusions: None of the examined age-friendly city components in Golestan province met the necessary standards. Recommendations include enhancing efforts by service organizations to improve conditions for older adults.