Life-Space Mobility of Middle-Aged and Older Adults at Various Stages of Usage of Power Mobility Devices
By Auger, Claudine; Demers, Louise; Gelinas, Isabelle; Miller, William C.; Jutai, Jeffrey W.; Noreau, Luc; Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 91, No. 5, pp. 765-773Publication Date: May 2010
Study examined the life-space mobility of middle-aged and older adults across the stages of initial and long term use of power mobility devices (PMDs) and explored the factors associated with greater life-space mobility. The 116 participants aged 50 to 89 years, 69 of whom were women, were grouped according to their stage of PMD usage, with 35 initial users (1 to 6 months), 39 long-term users (12 to 18 months), and a reference group of 42 individuals waiting for PMD procurement. Participants were interviewed with the Life-Space Assessment, a questionnaire collecting information about mobility habits within and around the home, in the neighborhood, and in and outside of town. Baseline personal, assistive device, intervention, and environmental factors associated with life-space mobility were explored with age-adjusted linear regression models. The impact of the PMD was found to be most important in the neighborhood. The life-space mobility of PMD users was better than that of the reference group, but it was stable across stages of initial and long-term use. Factors characterizing life-space mobility were sex, with women displaying significantly lower scores than men; the nature of activities intended by the user; and the type of device used.
Published by: W.B. Saunders Company, a division of Elsevier Health Sciences (Website:http://us.elsevierhealth.com)
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Web Site: http://www.aapmr.org/ )
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.acrm.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J58838
