Barriers to Promoting Mobility in Hospitalized Older Adults

Hospitalized older adults who do not receive sufficient mobility are more likely to sustain negative health outcomes, including higher rates of mortality and institutionalization. Accordingly, the purpose of the current secondary data analysis was to examine the nurse-promoted mobility of hospitalized older adults and the association between nurses' barriers and nurse-promoted mobility. In addition, the relationship among patient severity of illness, proxy levels for function, and nurse-promoted mobility was examined. The final study sample included 61 nurses working in medical units caring for a total of 77 older adults. Findings suggest nurse knowledge gaps and attitude barriers could potentially influence the type and frequency of mobility they promote in older patients. A relationship was found between older patients with impaired mobility using assistive devices for mobility at home, and those at high risk for falls and nurses promoting more sedentary activity (e.g., chair sitting, walking in the room). Interestingly, nurses promoted significantly more sedentary mobility for patients with physical therapy orders.