The intersecting barriers and enablers of leisure engagement among UK older adults across individual, local, and societal levels

Background: Leisure engagement (e.g., hobbies, volunteering, arts and cultural activities) supports health and wellbeing in older adults, yet participation remains socially patterned and unequal. Understanding barriers and enablers across individual, local, and societal levels is key to promoting equitable engagement. Methods: We used a mixed-methods approach. A survey on barriers and enablers was developed using ‘RADIANCE’, a social-ecological framework originally developed to map the determinants of arts and cultural engagement across multiple social levels. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to responses (n = 325) to identify latent constructs. Findings were then mapped onto the RADIANCE framework to examine how barriers and enablers operate across levels. The online survey included UK adults aged ≥55 years. Results: The mean age of survey respondents was 67 years (Standard deviation [SD]: 7.7, range: 55-85). EFA identified three factors across both barriers and enablers, conceptualised as ‘Accessibility and Inclusion’, ‘Opportunity’, and ‘Psychological and Social’. Mapping these onto the RADIANCE framework highlighted how factors interact across the social-ecological system, illustrating how intersecting barriers and enablers shape patterns of leisure engagement. Conclusions: This study enhances our understanding of inequalities in leisure participation across individual, local, and societal levels faced by older adults in the UK. These findings have practical implications for promoting active and healthy ageing, informing the design of social prescribing schemes and cross-sector policies to facilitate inclusive leisure engagement for older adults.