Perceived and objective entrance-related environmental barriers and daily out-of-home mobility in community-dwelling older people

Purpose We studied whether entrance-related environmental barriers, perceived and objectively recorded, were associated with moving out-of-home daily in older people with and without limitations in lower extremity performance. Methods Cross-sectional analyses of the “Life-space mobility in old age” cohort including 848 community-dwelling 75–90-year-old of central Finland. Participants reported their frequency of moving out-of-home (daily vs. 0–6 times/week) and perceived entrance-related environmental barriers (yes/no). Lower extremity performance was assessed (Short Physical Performance Battery) and categorized as poorer (score 0–9) or good (score 10–12). Environmental barriers at entrances and in exterior surroundings were objectively registered (Housing Enabler screening tool) and divided into tertiles. Logistic regression analyses were adjusted for age, sex, number of chronic diseases, cognitive function, month of assessment, type of neighborhood, and years lived in the current home. Results At home entrances a median of 6 and in the exterior surroundings 5 environmental barriers were objectively recorded, and 20% of the participants perceived entrance-related barriers. The odds for moving out-of-home less than daily increased when participants perceived entrance-related barrier(s) or when they lived in homes with higher numbers of objectively recorded environmental barriers at entrances. Participants with limitations in lower extremity performance were more susceptible to these environmental barriers. Objectively recorded environmental barriers in the exterior surroundings did not compromise out-of-home mobility. Conclusion Entrance-related environmental barriers may hinder community-dwelling older people to move out-of-home daily especially when their functional capacity is compromised. Potentially, reducing entrance-related barriers may help to prevent confinement to the home.