Exploring the health of women with mobility impairments.
This study examined health surveys of 109 midwestern women (mean age 44.6 +/- 8.2 years) with impaired mobility to determine whether mobility impairment severity was related to self-reported health, health care use, and engaging in health behaviors. The study also assessed which health factors were associated with pain. Women with severe mobility impairments reported poorer physical functioning, but better mental health than less severely impaired women after controlling for age, disability duration, and/or bodily pain. Degree of mobility impairment level was not significantly related to health behaviors, except having a checkup in the past year; more moderately impaired women reported these visits than mildly impaired women. Furthermore, pain was significantly associated with social functioning, general health, and secondary conditions. The findings suggest that factors beyond impairment level, such as pain, age, and disability duration, are related to the health of mobility-impaired women.
Gerontology Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. kgrobe@ku.edu
Katherine
K
Froehlich-Grobe
Stephen F
SF
Figoni
Christian
C
Thompson
Glen W
GW
White
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health