Prioritizing mobility factors for assessment during the transition of older adults from hospital to home: a cross-sectional survey of physiotherapists in Southeastern Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Assessing all factors influencing older adults' mobility during the hospital-to-home transition is not feasible given the complex and time-sensitive nature of hospital discharge processes.

Objective: To describe the mobility factors that Nigerian physiotherapists prioritize to be assessed during hospital-to-home transition of older adults and explore the differences in the prioritization of mobility factors across the physiotherapists' demographics and practice variables.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 121 physiotherapists who completed an online questionnaire, ranking 74 mobility factors using a nine-point Likert scale. A factor was prioritized if ≥ 70% of physiotherapists rated the factor as "Critical" (scores ≥7) and ≤ 15% of physiotherapists rated a factor as "Not Important" (scores ≤3). We assessed the differences in the prioritization of mobility factors across the physiotherapists' demographics/practice variables using Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Findings: Forty-three of 74 factors were prioritized: four cognitive, two environmental, one financial, four personal, eighteen physical, seven psychological, and seven social factors. Males and those with self-reported expertise in each mobility determinants more frequently rated factors as critical.

Conclusion: Prioritizing many mobility factors underscores the complex nature of mobility, suggesting that an interdisciplinary approach to addressing these factors may enhance post-hospital discharge mobility outcomes.