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- Title
Determination of the Minimal Important Change in the Life‐Space Assessment.
- Authors
Kennedy, Richard E.; Almutairi, Marzouq; Williams, Courtney P.; Sawyer, Patricia; Allman, Richard M.; Brown, Cynthia J.
- Abstract
Background/Objectives: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Life‐Space Assessment (LSA) is a widely used measure of community mobility. To assist clinicians and researchers with assessing the significance of changes in scores, we determined the minimal important change associated with a change in health status. Setting: Homes of community‐dwelling older adults. Participants: A total of 419 African American and non‐Hispanic white adults 75 years and older participating in the UAB Study of Aging II, a longitudinal epidemiological study across the state of Alabama. Intervention: None. Measurements: Linear mixed models were used to compare change in LSA scores over 1‐month intervals (N = 9712) between participants reporting improvement, no change, or decline in activities of daily living walking scores, accounting for the correlation among scores for the same participant over time. Results: A decline in walking status was associated with a mean decrease in LSA scores of 2.93 points (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.69‐4.17 points), indicating lower mobility. An improvement in walking status was associated with a mean increase in LSA scores of 2.51 points (95% CI = 1.26‐3.77 points), indicating higher mobility. Conclusion: A change in LSA scores of five or more is clinically important, exceeding the 95% CI for the change in LSA associated with change in walking status. Changes exceeding this threshold should prompt further investigation by providers with a goal of preserving mobility. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:565–569, 2019.
- Subjects
ALABAMA; ACADEMIC medical centers; GERIATRIC assessment; AGING; BLACK people; CONFIDENCE intervals; EPIDEMIOLOGICAL research; LONGITUDINAL method; STATISTICS; WALKING; WHITE people; DATA analysis; BODY movement; INDEPENDENT living; OLD age
- Publication
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2019, Vol 67, Issue 3, p565
- ISSN
0002-8614
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/jgs.15707