Mobility impact and well-being in later life: A multidisciplinary systematic review

In modern societies, the understanding of how active mobility affects the elderly’s psycho-physical well-being is crucial to design ageing-friendly transport measures. From a multidisciplinary perspective, this systematic review points out the mobility impact on three elements of the EU Active Ageing Index: health, independence and social connectedness. By scanning four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and TRID), 3727 peer-reviewed papers published in the last decade were found, of which 57 met the inclusion criteria. The screening process was conducted following the PRISMA protocol and registered to the database PROSPERO, while the quality assessment was done using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. More than 80% of the papers showed that an active mobility prevents psycho-physical harms, while only few papers study the relation of mobility with independence and social inclusion, to reduce the need for assistance and the related public expenditures. The findings of this review give important information both to transportation researchers and policymakers and companies, underlining the need for further research as well as investments in targeted age-friendly transport systems. The Covid-19 emergency has further underlined the importance of this issue, being the elderly one of the more disadvantaged and frailer social group.