Neighbourhood characteristics, individual attributes and self-rated health among older Canadians

This study drew on three cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey and the 2001 Census to examine between-neighbourhood variation in positive and negative self-rated health and the relative effect of individual and neighbourhood characteristics on self-rated health among Canadian adults aged ≥65. Multilevel logistic regression results showed that there was modest, but significant between-neighbourhood variation in self-rated health. Neighbourhood factors including income, education, and percentage of people aged ≥65, and visible minority accounted for about 50% and 30% of the neighbourhood variation in negative and positive self-rated health, respectively. Relative to neighbourhood-level characteristics, individual characteristics had a stronger effect on self-rated health with involvement in physical activity, alcohol consumption, sense of community belonging, income, and education being the most important. Although the findings suggest that neighbourhood effects on self-rated health are modest and that individual-level factors are relatively more important determinants of health, research concern for contextual influences on health should continue.