Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine the internal characteristics of older adults independent in
community ambulation to gain further understanding of the skills required for its
successful execution. DESIGN: Exploratory factor analysis. SETTING: General
community. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy, community dwelling older adults (N=113) who
were cognitively intact and walked outdoors independently. INTERVENTIONS: Not
applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Spatiotemporal gait parameters derived from
accelerometry over 6 minutes walking outdoors and a battery of measures for
motor, cognitive, executive, and behavioral characteristics. RESULTS: Mean
participant age +/- SD was 75.8+/-7.3 years, with almost a third of the sample
over 80 years. Four factors emerged from the Factor Analysis of 23 variables:
motor control, self-efficacy, executive function, and cognitive-motor
interference, which together explained 61.4% of common variance. Eight variables
loaded onto motor control, accounting for 34.5% of common variance; 7 items
loaded onto self-efficacy, which explained 12.4% of common variance; 5 variables
loaded onto executive function, accounting for 8.4% of common variance; and 3
variables loaded onto cognitive-motor interference, explaining 6% of the
variance. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study indicate that factors beyond motor
control contribute to independent community ambulation in older adults,
reflecting the multidimensional, complex nature of the task. Self-efficacy was
shown to be more relevant than executive function to gait performance, suggesting
the need for a broader approach to assessment and intervention strategies.
CI - Copyright 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS