A comparison of social participation level in older adults with or without assistive mobility devices

Social participation is an important aspect of health in aging. It is also a part of life and key element in function that improves physical and psychological health in elderly.It is possible that usage of assistive mobility device impacts social participation in this population. Current study aims to compare social participation in older adults who use assistive mobility devices with those who do not use assistive devices in Tehran. In this cross sectional study, older adults with and without assistive mobility device were comprised in their social participation. Seventy nine older adult (39 females and 40 men) who were 60 years old or older were recruited using convenient sampling. They completed life habit, Mini Mental State and demographic questionnaires. For analyzing continuous data with normal distribution, t-test and ANOVA were used while Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for categorical variable or those with non-normal distribution. The finding indicates that older adults with assistive mobility device engage less in social participation than those who do not use these devices (p< 0.05). Older adults in age group of 60-74 had higher social participation in comparison with those in 75-89 age group (p< 0.05). There was no different between male and females, and single older adults and those who were married in their social participation. Type of assistive device affects social participation in older adults. The results suggest that older adult with higher physical ability have higher social participation. Older adults who use assistive devices face with more limitations to participation in their community. It is necessary for team of rehabilitation to pay attention to improving social participation for older adults.