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. 2020 Apr;39(4):435-441.
doi: 10.1177/0733464818770788. Epub 2018 Apr 24.

Factors That Contribute to Recovery of Community Mobility After Hospitalization Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Elina U Wells  1 , Courtney P Williams  2 , Richard E Kennedy  2 , Patricia Sawyer  2 , Cynthia J Brown  2   3
Affiliations

Factors That Contribute to Recovery of Community Mobility After Hospitalization Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Elina U Wells et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the proportion of older adults who recovered community mobility after hospitalization and identify factors associated with recovery. Using a random sample of 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years of age, we identified individuals with at least one hospitalization over 8.5 years of follow-up. Data were collected at baseline and every 6 months, including demographics, function, social support, community mobility measured by the UAB Life-Space Assessment (LSA), and overnight hospital admissions. Recovery was defined as a LSA score no more than five points lower than the prehospitalization LSA score at last follow-up. Overall, 339 participants (M age = 75.4 [SD = 6.6] years, 44% African American, 48% female) had at least one hospitalization. In the full logistic regression model, younger age (p = .007) and religious service attendance (p = .001) remained independently associated with recovery. An understanding of factors associated with recovery after hospitalization may provide a target for future interventions.

Keywords: Life-Space Assessment; disability; hospitalization; mobility; older adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

EUW, CPW, REK and PS have no conflicts of interest to report.

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