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 rehabilitationFor 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.