Perceptions and experiences of functional mobility for community‐dwelling older people: A focused ethnography

Abstract

Background: Mobility challenges may indicate functional decline and are a relevant problem faced by older people. An individual's perception of mobility is affected and moderated by several factors and varies significantly from one community to another.Providing an improved understanding of how older people perceive and experience mobility is a step towards better preparing nurses for roles they are increasingly expected to play. Purpose:The purpose of the study was to investigate perceptions and experiences of mobility in a group of Brazilian community-dwelling older people living with mobility challenges.Method: Data were generated between June and October 2018 through in-depth interviews, socio-demographic surveys and field notes. Purposive sampling strategies were used to recruit 23 Brazilian older people to participate in this focused ethnographic study. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.Findings: Perceptions of Brazilian community-dwelling older people living with mobility challenges were culturally learned and influenced by the social, physical and health environments. Participants' previous experiences with mobility had significant implications on values they attributed to mobility challenges. In addition, older people's experiences with mobility challenges were an integral part of sense of self and strongly related to contextual factors. Conclusions:This study contributes new information to the field of inquiry on mobility of older people as it focuses on the perceptions of a specific age group and culture and attends to the interrelationships between health conditions and contextual factors affecting the mobility of older people.Implications for practice: This study's particular contributions to the nursing discipline are related to improving care by revealing the significance of the context of mobility in which nursing actions are applied.

Older people’s perceptions and experiences of older people with the Sit-to-stand activity: An ethnographic pre-feasibility study

“…Data translation was performed (Portuguese and English) because the study participants and some of the researchers spoke different languages. The data translation procedures are described elsewhere (26) .…”

“…Data translation was performed (Portuguese and English) because the study participants and some of the researchers spoke different languages. The data translation procedures are described elsewhere 26 . The transcripts were imported to the NVivo 11 data management software (QSR International Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia).…”

“…Before conducting an intervention study, it is important to first examine the context wherein the intervention would be introduced 24 . Particularly for Brazilian community-dwelling older people living with mobility challenges, mobility involves cultural elements; it is an integral part of their sense of self and is strongly related to contextual factors 26 . In line with a knowledge translation standpoint, this pre-feasibility research is the first step to link the Sit-to-stand activity, a successful intervention from the Global North, and culturally relevant knowledge produced during the research to what Brazilian older people know about mobility and physical activity.…”

Percepciones y experiencias de los adultos mayores con respecto a la actividad Sit-to-stand: Un estudio etnográfico de viabilidad previa

“…Antes de realizar un estudio de intervención, es importante examinar el contexto en el que se la incorporaría (24) . Particularmente en el caso de los adultos mayores de Brasil que viven en la comunidad y presentan problemas de movilidad, esta implica elementos culturales; es un componente integral de su sentido de la propia existencia y está fuertemente relacionada con factores contextuales (26) . En consonancia con una perspectiva de traducción del conocimiento, este trabajo de investigación de viabilidad previa es el primer paso para vincular la actividad Sit-to-stand, una exitosa intervención de la Región Norte Global, con conocimientos de relevancia cultural producidos durante la investigación sobre lo que conocen de los adultos mayores de Brasil sobre la movilidad y la actividad física.…”

“…Los datos se tradujeron (portugués e inglés) porque los participantes del estudio y algunos de los investigadores hablaban distintos idiomas. Los procedimientos para traducir los datos se describen en otro material (26) . Las transcripciones se importaron al programa de administración de datos NVivo 11 (QSR International Pty Ltd, Victoria, Australia).…”