Movement and Mobility: Conceptual definitions and relevant measures

Abstract

Movement and mobility are concepts that are frequently used in the nursing field. Movement is a fundamental human ability which changes as individuals grow and as a result of illness or injury. Movement is one of many factors which affects mobility. Decreased mobility can lead to decreased quality of life and independence. As individuals age the incidence of mobility difficulties increases, reaching 81% for women and 57% for men at the age of 90. Most of the tasks that nurses help their patients complete involve some degree of movement or mobility, so it is important for nurses to be able to determine if their interventions are returning patients to their optimal level of functioning in movement and mobility. Despite the importance of these concepts, they are often confused or used interchangeably. These concepts need to be clarified to ensure proper measurement of outcomes. A concept analysis was completed to clarify and compare movement and mobility that was followed by a scoping review in order to identify and analyze measures that claimed to measure either movement or mobility. The measures were analysed using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), an alpha-numeric system created to code health information. Because the code set generated by the scoping review was larger than the data sets seen in existing studies, existing methods for analyzing and presenting data were further developed. Finally, the concepts of movement and mobility were operationalized using an example case to show how the information from the scoping review can be used to select measures of movement and mobility for clinical and research purposes.