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.