Löfqvist Charlotte, Nygren Carita, Brandt Ase, Oswald Frank, Iwarsson Susanne
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2007 Dec;19(6):497-505. doi: 10.1007/BF03324737.
Mobility devices (MDs) such as walking sticks, rollators and wheelchairs, often play an important role for older people living at home, striving to remain independent in everyday activities. The aim of this study was to explore how the use of MDs changes over time among very old people in five European countries.
Empirical data from the ENABLE-AGE Survey Study, part of a major interdisciplinary research project carried out in Sweden (n=314), Germany (n=322), the United Kingdom (n=316), Hungary (n=179), and Latvia (n=225), were used.
The use of MDs in the Swedish, German and UK samples showed a significant increase between the first occasion of data collection (T1) and the second (T2), 12 months later. A walking stick was the most common MD on both occasions, with the exception that the number of users of rollators outdoors exceeded the number of users of walking sticks in the Swedish sample at T2. Among non-users of MDs at T1, 12-21% became new users at T2. Continued use was seen between T1 and T2 (80-94%) in the various samples, but the type of MD used changed. In the Swedish, German and UK samples, significant changes were seen in the use of MDs with greater assistive potential over the year.
This study shows that the pattern of MD use changes over a short period of time. More research is needed to determine outcomes of MD use in very old age, focusing on the extent to which MDs decrease disability during the aging process, not least in a European perspective.
拐杖、助行器和轮椅等移动辅助器械，对于居家养老且力求在日常活动中保持独立的老年人往往起着重要作用。本研究旨在探讨五个欧洲国家的高龄老人使用移动辅助器械的情况随时间如何变化。
采用了ENABLE-AGE调查研究的实证数据，该研究是在瑞典（n = 314）、德国（n = 322）、英国（n = 316）、匈牙利（n = 179）和拉脱维亚（n = 225）开展的一个大型跨学科研究项目的一部分。
在瑞典、德国和英国的样本中，首次数据收集时（T1）至12个月后的第二次数据收集时（T2），移动辅助器械的使用显著增加。两次调查中，拐杖都是最常用的移动辅助器械，但在T2时，瑞典样本中户外使用助行器的人数超过了使用拐杖的人数。在T1时未使用移动辅助器械的人群中，12% - 21%在T2时成为了新用户。各样本在T1和T2之间持续使用移动辅助器械的比例为80% - 94%，但使用的移动辅助器械类型发生了变化。在瑞典、德国和英国的样本中，一年来具有更大辅助潜力的移动辅助器械的使用出现了显著变化。
本研究表明，移动辅助器械的使用模式在短时间内会发生变化。需要开展更多研究来确定高龄老人使用移动辅助器械的效果，尤其要从欧洲视角关注移动辅助器械在衰老过程中减少残疾的程度。
