Supermarket staff attitudes and social distance toward older people: an age-friendly perspective

The WHO Age-Friendly Cities Framework identifies eight domains that emphasize the importance of enabling older adults to remain engaged and integrated in community life. Supermarkets play an important role in the daily routines of community-dwelling older adults, serving not only as places to purchase necessities but also as spaces for social interaction. The social distance maintained by supermarket staff can shape the quality of these interactions and influence opportunities for social participation. Negative staff attitudes may further increase social distance. Despite supermarkets being among the most frequently used community spaces by older adults, the social environment within retail settings has been largely overlooked in age‑friendly research. Understanding staff attitudes and social distance provides essential evidence for designing age‑friendly retail practices and informing staff training and community aging‑in‑place initiatives. This study therefore examines the association between staff attitudes toward older adults and perceived social distance. A cross‑sectional survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire between November 2025 and January 2026. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were employed. The study population comprised all staff working in supermarkets in Macao. The research instruments included the Kogan’s Attitude toward Older People Scale (KAOP) and the Social Distance Scale (SDS). Independent samples t-test and one‑way ANOVA were used to compare SDS scores across demographic groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between KAOP and SDS. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with social distance toward older adults. A total of 229 valid questionnaires were collected. The mean KAOP score was 140.94 ± 30.20, and the mean SDS score was 29.03 ± 11.95. Significant differences in SDS scores were observed across age groups, job positions, and residency status. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for sociodemographic and contact-related variables, higher monthly income and higher KAOP scores were associated with lower social distance. Staff attitudes were strongly associated with the degree of social distance expressed during interactions with older customers. Staff with higher incomes may hold more senior or customer-facing roles, providing more frequent and positive contact experiences with older adults, which reduces social distance. Similarly, staff with more positive attitudes toward older adults were more willing to engage in socially proximate interactions, resulting in lower perceived social distance. Improving staff attitudes and reducing social distance may strengthen older adults’ social participation and overall community experience, thereby supporting broader aging‑in‑place initiatives.