Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Realized Travel Demand and Relative Desired Mobility of Elderly Women in Rural and Small Urban North Dakota
Authors:	Jill Hough
Publication Date:	Oct 2007
Report #:	DP-192
TRID #:	01080859
Keywords:	aged, females, mobility, multivariate analysis, rural areas, small cities, small towns, surveys, travel demand, trip purpose
Type:	Research Report – Department Publications

Abstract

Mobility for the aging is a topic of paramount importance around the world. Women may face the greatest mobility challenges because of their tendency to live longer than men, to have more health-related problems than men, and to stop driving earlier than men. Therefore, it is important to better understand the met and unmet mobility needs of women age 65 and older. This study applies a multi-level conceptual ecological model to improve our understanding of women's realized travel demands (RTD – current level of trips) and their relative desired mobility (RDM – desire for more or fewer trips). Responses from 1,021 women age 65 and older living in rural and small urban North Dakota collected by a telephone survey in August 2006 were used for this study. The level of trips and the desire for more or fewer trips were investigated for nine trip types (doctor, store, pharmacy, hair salon, eating out, visiting friend, attending church, exercise, and no particular destination). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the significant variables categorized within the individual level (e.g., self-efficacy) social environment (e.g., family), and physical environment (rural vs. urban) that impact the current level of trips and the desired trips.