Life styles, out-of-home participation, and activity dependence among elderly Canadians with mobility disabilities

Liu, Fang (2009) Life styles, out-of-home participation, and activity dependence among elderly Canadians with mobility disabilities. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The Canadian population is aging and will continue to age until the year 2031. Subsequently, both the size of the elderly population and the number of people with mobility related disabilities in this country are expected to increase in the next two decades. Their lifestyles and daily activities both affect and are affected by their disability. This thesis aims to explore the inter-relationships between lifestyles, including smoking and alcohol consumption, barriers associated with out-of-home social participation, and the level of mobility disability in elderly Canadians aged 65 years or older. -- This study used data from both the 2001 Canadian Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) and the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Data analyses included descriptive analyses, multivariate logistic regressions, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The results suggest that smoking prevalence was similar in people with and without mobility disability. However, an inverse relationship was observed between the levels of disability and the alcohol drinking behavior with the prevalence of regular drinking varying from 48.08% in the general elderly Canadians, 19.37% and 12.85% in people with less severe and severe mobility disability, respectively. Environmental barriers in home design also significantly contributed to restrictions in out-of-home social participation (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.10 - 1.69). Results from structural equation modeling further suggest that the effect of people's disability can be completely mitigated by environmental facilitators. -- This thesis adds new evidence that reducing environmental barriers can significantly lead to enhanced out-of-home social participation in elderly Canadians with mobility disability. -- Key words: Mobility disability; Elderly; PALS; ICF; Smoking; Alcohol Consumption; Environmental Factors; Personal Factors; Pain; Out-of-home Social Participation; Activity Dependence

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