European Geriatric Medicine · Jul 5, 2022

Examining the factors associated with community ambulation in an older adult day hospital population

By Conroy B, Murphy N, Romero-Ortuno R et al.

PURPOSE: The ability of an older adult to walk independently in their community assists with maintaining independence, a healthy lifestyle and a good quality of life. In clinical practice, outdoor mobility is often one of the first activities, where a decline is observed. The aim of this study was to examine the factors associated with community ambulation in community dwelling older adults attending a day hospital. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional observational study design. Inclusion criteria were community dwelling older adults, over 65 years, attending a day hospital and able to ambulate at least 10 m with or without an assistive device. The primary outcome measure was a community ambulation questionnaire. A range of other outcome measures were completed assessing motor, cognitive, executive function and behavioural domains. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify independent predictors of community ambulation. RESULTS: 161 participants completed this study. The median age was 83 years (IQR 9), 64% were female and 49.1% lived alone. 55.3% of participants were classified as independent community ambulators. Mean gait speed was 0.8 m/s, median TUG score was 16.6 s and median frailty was 4 (IRQ 2) using the Clinical Frail Scale. Self-efficacy (p < 0.001) and gait speed (p = 0.030) were independently associated with community ambulation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the complexity and multifactorial nature of community ambulation in older adults. This suggests the need to adopt a broader approach to the management of older adults, to promote the achievement of independent community ambulation.

doi.org/10.1007/s41999-022-00666-wPubMed 35788972Populations