title: Defining profiles of functional limitations in groups of older persons: how and why?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Addressing the complexity of multiple health problems in the older population, the objective was to identify combinations of functional limitations for use in simulation analysis, to enable predictions of the potentially most severe person-environment fit (i.e., accessibility) problems among groups of older persons.
  
  
  METHODS
  Utilizing data from 1,542 persons aged 75 to 89 years and applying Configuration Frequency Analysis, we tested which combinations of functional limitations that occurred more or less often than expected. Significant combinations were defined as type profiles and used in simulated accessibility analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven combinations occurred more often and eight less often than expected (p < .05). Simulations with ten type profiles predicted varied patterns of accessibility problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of type profiles has potential to contribute to the knowledge of combinations of functional limitations among groups of older persons. Variation in predicted accessibility problems for different type profiles helps identifying priorities in societal planning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. bjorn.slaug@med.lu.se
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Slaug
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schilling
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwarsson
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carlsson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification*; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000145:classification*; D004779:Environment Design; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D018803:Models, Economic