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Activities to Address Quality of Life Between Urban and Rural Ageing People in the Czech Republic

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Handbook of Active Ageing and Quality of Life

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

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Abstract

Environment fundamentally affects the quality of life in old age, whether offering support or presenting barriers. Rural and urban environments represent different challenges for ageing people. Based on two research projects with ageing people in the Czech Republic, one based in city centers and the second in rural settlements with fewer than 5000 inhabitants, three key areas are identified that determine the subjective perceived quality of life in old age: neighbours, safety and lifestyle. Mixed methods were used. For most indicators, ageing is very similar in rural and urban areas. Older adults feel a little happier, healthier and less lonely in the countryside, but the differences are small. Unlike in rural areas, safety is a risk element in the urban environment. Distinctively different forms of active lifestyles were found in the city and country, but both types of activity appeared to act as protective elements for maintaining quality of life in old age.

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Acknowledgments

The writing of this article was supported by the Czech Scientific Agency project “Rural Ageing: Unanswered Questions in Environmental Gerontology” (2016–2018) (Grant No. 16-20873S).

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  1. Office for Population Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

    Marcela Petrová Kafková

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  1. Marcela Petrová Kafková
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Correspondence to Marcela Petrová Kafková .

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  1. Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography (IEGD), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Research Group on Ageing (GIE-CSIC), Ageing Network of the Latin American Population Association (ALAP), Madrid, Spain

    Fermina Rojo-Pérez

  2. Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography (IEGD), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Research Group on Ageing (GIE-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Gloria Fernández-Mayoralas

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Petrová Kafková, M. (2021). Activities to Address Quality of Life Between Urban and Rural Ageing People in the Czech Republic. In: Rojo-Pérez, F., Fernández-Mayoralas, G. (eds) Handbook of Active Ageing and Quality of Life. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58031-5_35

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