Re-framing mobility in older adults: an adapted comprehensive conceptual framework

Although there is widespread acceptance regarding the importance of mobility in older adults, there have been few attempts to bridge disciplines and move beyond the predominant focus on functional aspects of mobility. In this article, we present an adapted mobility framework with the goal of continued development to acknowledge the subjective and temporal elements of movement in order to comprehensively conceptualize mobility. The adapted framework of mobility offers a physiological, subjective, contextual and temporal approach, that provides a more comprehensive conceptualization of the nature and processes of older adults’ mobility. The use of a sliding scale in our framework reveals the dynamic, fluid and experiential nature of mobility by analyzing factors within and between people and their environments, over time. Adopting this framework reframes how mobility can be conceptualized and approached across a potential range of users and user groups. Our framework presents theoretical concepts that can be transported and tested in research studies. Our framework can also be used in clinical or community settings.