Age-Friendly Health Systems Research Articles on Mobility
Age-friendly care is health care that addresses our unique needs and can help us enjoy a better quality of life as we get older. There is a growing body of evidence about the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework, including Mobility.
Mobility ensures that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters to them. Here are the latest articles to learn more about mobility and ways to help keep us active and moving as we age.
Nurse Leader: Reframing the View of Falls and Care of the Older Adult
This article highlights the ageist bias that "older people just fall" and how that can hinder a holistic evaluation and management of the real cause of the fall, many of which are modifiable. Ageism has a profound impact on health outcomes and the experiences of older adults. Nurse leaders can advance health equity for older adults by integrating evidence-based care planning using a nurse-driven, technology-enabled approach.
American Journal of Nursing: Promoting Safe Mobility
This article is the fifth part of the series, Supporting Family Caregivers in the 4Ms of an Age-Friendly Health System, which was published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute as part of the ongoing Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone series. The article discusses how mobilizing hospitalized older adults is foundational nursing care. It also explores the opportunity for nurses to change the organizational culture from focusing on fall prevention to promoting evidence-based practices for mobility, including progressive mobility protocols—interventions that become incrementally more advanced, such as first doing bed exercises or sitting up, then progressing to standing and walking.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Prevalence and Predictors of Ambulatory Care Physicians’ Documentation of Mobility Limitations in Older Adults
The objective of this study was to determine how often physicians document mobility limitations in visits with older adults, and which patient, physician and practice characteristics are associated with documented mobility limitations. The study found that mobility limitations are under-documented and may be primarily captured when changes in function are overt.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing: Home Sweet Home - Resources for Promoting Mobility for Aging in Place Across Settings
Staying in their communities and maintaining their independence are priorities for older adults. Living at home independently depends on the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs. Regardless of their setting, older adults need to be as active as possible and encouraged to set daily mobility goals and participate in the exercise. To support these efforts, this article highlights recent resources, programs and materials for nurses to support mobility for older adults in multiple settings.
Advances in Family Practice Nursing: Falls in Older Adults - Prevention and Assessment of Risk in Primary Care
Falls, fall risk, fear of falling and mobility impairment are common issues for older adults and often have negative outcomes. This article discusses evidence-based tools that are available to help in assessing and managing fall risk in older adults.
Learn more about IHI's AFHS initiative.
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