title: Associations between environmental characteristics and life-space mobility in community-dwelling older people.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between perceived environmental barriers to and facilitators for outdoor mobility with life-space among older people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-dwelling, 75- to 90-year-old people (n = 848) were interviewed face-to-face using standard questionnaires. The Life-Space Assessment (LSA), indicating distance and frequency of moving and assistance needed in moving (range 0-120), was used. Environmental barriers and facilitators outdoors were self-reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Altogether, 41% (n = 348) of the participants had restricted life-space (LSA score < 60). Those reporting one or more environmental barriers had more than double the odds for restricted life-space compared with those reporting no barriers after adjustments for ill health, functioning, and socioeconomic status (SES) differences. Similarly, those reporting four to seven facilitators had lower odds for restricted life-space compared with those reporting three or fewer facilitators.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceptions of one's environment may either constrain or extend older people's life-space. Longitudinal studies are needed to study the causality of the findings.
authors.affiliation: University of Jyväskylä, Finland Merja.rantakokko@jyu.fi.
authors.forename: Merja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rantakokko
authors.affiliation: Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwarsson
authors.affiliation: University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Erja
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Portegijs
authors.affiliation: University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viljanen
authors.affiliation: University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: Taina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rantanen
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004777:Environment; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation
keywords: aging; environment; life-space; mobility