Mobility Adaptations of Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this secondary study was to describe the mobility adaptations of community—living older adults. The primary study, designed to understand weakness and aging from the perspective of older adults, revealed that older adults viewed weakness as a progression from inability to an end point of ‘giving up,’ which prompted the use of adaptation strategies to preserve mobility and to counter a self-identity of being weak. A qualitative descriptive design guided the primary study of 15 community—living older adults, who participated in in-depth interviews. A systematic secondary analysis using Baltes and Baltes’ theory of Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) showed that older adults used selection, optimization, and compensation adaptations across a range of mobility behaviors. The SOC model offered a framework for profiling older adults’ agency and motivations in meeting mobility challenges as they age and provided the basis for targeted interventions to maximize mobility with aging.

Keywords

older adults mobility selective optimization with compensation (SOC)secondary analysis

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