Evaluation of the conformity of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Shahcheragh (A.S.)with the indicators of an elderly-friendly city

With the increase in the elderly population, it is necessary to check the suitability of various places, including religious places, with the conditions and needs of the elderly. According to the theory of transcendence, which is one of the newest theories of gerontology, during old age, people's spiritual tendencies increase and attendance at religious rituals increases. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the compatibility of the Holy Shrine of Shahcheragh (AS) with the indicators of an elderly-friendly city. The current cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 400 elderly people living in Shiraz city in 2018. The samples were selected using the two-stage cluster sampling method from among the elderly covered by health centers in Shiraz. The information was collected by World Health Organization's Elderly Friendly City Questionnaire (AFCQ) and demographic information questionnaire. The data were analyzed by independent t-tests and hierarchical regression at a significance level of 0.05 by SPSS version 23 software. Based on the results, the score of the whole city of Dostdar Al-Salmand and its six indicators in the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Shahcheragh (AS) was in an average state. Also, the total score and all the indicators (open spaces and public places, safety and ease of traffic, respect and social inclusion and health-treatment) except the index of buildings and social participation had significant differences based on gender.