Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Rantakokko, Merja Outdoor environment, mobility decline and quality of life among older people Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2011, 86 p. (Studies in Sport, Physical Education, and Health ISSN 0356-1070; 168) ISBN 978-951-39-4269-4 Finnish Summary Diss. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of perceived barriers in the outdoor environment on outdoor mobility and quality of life in older people. In addition, two new concepts related to outdoor mobility decline, fear of moving outdoors and unmet physical activity need, were introduced. This study is based on baseline data (n=727) and follow-up data of the control group (n=314) used in the SCAMOB (Screening and Counseling for Physical Activity and Mobility in Older People) project with a total follow-up time of 3.5 years. Participants were 75to 81-year-old, community-dwelling people living in a Jyvaskyla city center neighborhood. Data on perceived barriers in the outdoor environment, perceived walking difficulties, fear of moving outdoors, unmet physical activity need and quality of life (QoL) were obtained in face-to-face interviews. Additionally, maximal walking speed was measured in the study centre. Perceived barriers in the outdoor environment predicted development of walking difficulty in the 3.5-year follow-up. Perceived barriers in the outdoor environment also underlay fear of moving outdoors, which in turn predicted development of walking difficulty and unmet physical activity need. However, fear of moving outdoors predicted walking difficulties independently of the environmental factors. Unmet physical activity need was more common among ambulatory community-dwelling older people who had health and mobility problems and reported barriers in the outdoor environment. Barriers in the outdoor environment which encumbered outdoor mobility increased perceptions of fear of moving outdoors and unmet physical activity need, and resulted in poor QoL in older people. The results of the present study indicate that reducing barriers in the outdoor environment may help older people to maintain outdoor mobility which is a prerequisite for independent living in the community. In addition, ways of overcoming fear of moving outdoors and barriers to physical activity need to be developed to promote opportunities for physical activity participation, and so improve quality of life among older people.
Author: Merja Rantakokko
Language: English
Subfield: Transportation
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W224144628