Timed mobility: description of measurement, performance, and dimensionality among older adults

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the measurement, performance, and dimensionality of five timed mobility activities completed by older adults.

Materials and methods: Cross-sectional observational study using correlational and factor analysis to examine the dimensionality of five timed mobility activities performed by 189 older adults in an outpatient setting.

Results: The times to complete supine-to-sit, five repetition sit-to-stand, 8 m comfortable gait, four step ascent, and four step descent were correlated significantly with one another (r = 0.294–0.827, p < 0.001). The times were also internally consistent (α = 0.71) and loaded highly on a single factor (0.587–0.888).

Conclusion: The timed measurements of this study were easily obtained. They can be viewed as unidimensional and representative of a single construct of the international classification of functioning, disability, and health -timed mobility.

Implications for rehabilitation

• For patients who are independent in mobility, timing offers a means of differentiating the performance of individual patients.

• As the times to complete five mobility activities are interrelated, mobility is supported as a rehabilitation construct and patients who are faster at one activity should be expected to be faster at another.

Keywords:

• Mobility
• outcome measurement
• factor analysis
• older adults
• ICF

View correction statement:

Correction to: Richard et al., Timed mobility: description of measurement, performance, and dimensionality among older adults

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health R01AG022092 and R01DA024667, and The Lowell P Weicker, Jr. Clinical Research Center, University of Connecticut, Health Center, Farmington, CT.