Understanding Home Activity Challenges of Older Adults Aging with Long-Term Mobility Disabilities: Recommendations for Home Environment Design

Abstract

As age-related changes progress, individuals with long-term mobility disabilities experience more challenges in engaging with everyday activities. This archival analysis identified common activity challenges older adults with long-term mobility disabilities report and the type of strategies they employed to respond to these challenges, using the interview data (n = 60) from the Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Solution Strategies Study. We discovered that activity challenges come from intrinsic factors (i.e., mobility limitations, strength, health conditions) as well as extrinsic factors (transferring and physical access). With these challenges in mind, we constructed home environment design strategies that could meet the needs of people aging with mobility disabilities.