Clinical usefulness of indoor life-space assessment in community-dwelling older adults certified as needing support or care

PURPOSE This study aimed to develop a questionnaire to evaluate indoor life-space mobility and assess its validity in community-dwelling older adults certified as needing support or care. METHODS The participants included 37 community-dwelling older adults undergoing home-visit rehabilitation (mean age: 78.5±7.0 years). We developed a questionnaire to assess the degree of indoor life-space mobility (home-based life-space assessment (Hb-LSA)), evaluating the functional status (life-space assessment (LSA), time spent away from bed, functional independence measure (FIM), bedside mobility scale (BMS)), physical function (hand grip power (HGP), 30-second chair stand (CS-30), one-leg standing (OLS)) and cognitive status (mental status questionnaire (MSQ)). RESULTS The average Hb-LSA score was 56.3±24.3 (minimum 4 to maximum 102.5). The test-retest reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficients: (1, 1)=0.986, (1, 2)=0.993). The Hb-LSA scores were significantly associated with the LSA (r=0.897), time spent away from bed (r=0.497), FIM (r=0.786), BMS (r=0.720), HGP (r=0.388), CS-30 (r=0.541) and OLS (r=0.455). There were no significant associations between the Hb-LSA scores and the FIM cognitive subscores (r=0.180) or MSQ scores (r=-0.240). The Hb-LSA scores were significantly higher among the participants able to move independently indoors (75.8±18.8 points) than in those who required help to move (45.7±20.2 points). CONCLUSIONS The Hb-LSA is a useful, reliable and valid tool for assessing the degree of indoor physical mobility in the life-space. The Hb-LSA score is related to the degree of independence of indoor mobility.