Mobility adaptations of older adults: a secondary analysis.
The purpose of this secondary study was to describe the mobility adaptations of community-living older adults. The primary study, designed to understand weakness and aging from the perspective of older adults, revealed that older adults viewed weakness as a progression from inability to an end point of 'giving up,' which prompted the use of adaptation strategies to preserve mobility and to counter a self-identity of being weak. A qualitative descriptive design guided the primary study of 15 community-living older adults, who participated in in-depth interviews. A systematic secondary analysis using Baltes and Baltes' theory of Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) showed that older adults used selection, optimization, and compensation adaptations across a range of mobility behaviors. The SOC model offered a framework for profiling older adults' agency and motivations in meeting mobility challenges as they age and provided the basis for targeted interventions to maximize mobility with aging.
Rush
Kathy L
KL
University of British Columbia, Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada. kathy.rush@ubc.ca
Watts
Wilda E
WE
Stanbury
Janice
J
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male