The impact of the community life circle on the quality of life of older adults based on a structural equation model

With the intensification of population aging in China, the community life circle (CLC), as an important planning model for enhancing the quality of life (QoL) of older adults, has garnered increasing attention. This study thus aims to investigate the complex impact of various CLC components on the QoL of older adults through a large-scale questionnaire survey. This study designed a structured questionnaire to investigate the complex relationships between CLC components and QoL domains from the perspective of older adults. A large-scale survey was conducted across more than 190 communities in Hefei, China, collecting 3528 valid questionnaires. Reliability analysis and factor analysis were employed to identify CLC components and older adults’ QoL factors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to analyze the intricate relationships between them. Four CLC components and three factors of older adults’ QoL factors were identified. The SEM results revealed complex relationships between the CLC components and older adults’ QoL. The findings indicate that: (i) Community facilities, community support, and digital community services have a significant positive effect on personal QoL; (ii) aside from public transportation, all other CLC components significantly impact environmental QoL; (iii) only community facilities and digital community services exhibit a significant positive effect on social QoL.