Abstract
Objective:
To analyze the association between the decline in the mobility of community dwelling elderly persons in São Paulo, Brazil and their capacity to use public transportation, and its impact on their quality of life and social participation.
Method:
A cross-sectional study was conducted of 32 community dwelling elderly persons, of both genders (59% female), with an average age of 75.5 years (±9.2). The participants were evaluated by functional mobility, risk of falls, fear of falls and independence in activities of daily living. In addition, the perception of the elderly persons of their mobility on public transport and its impact on their social participation was evaluated. The elderly persons were divided into two groups: with mobility impairment and without mobility impairment. The groups were compared using the Fisher's Exact, Chi-Squared and Mann-Whitney tests, and the unpaired Student's t-test. An alpha level of 0.05 was adopted as a level of statistical significance.
Result:
Elderly persons with greater mobility impairment exhibited greater difficulty accessing public transport and a greater number of falls during their use of the same. Elderly persons who reported difficulty accessing public transport suffered greater impact on their social participation and quality of life.
Conclusion:
Elderly persons with greater mobility impairment had a greater number of complaints related to public transport. Additionally, they suffered a greater impact on their social participation, characterized by limitations in their capacity for independent movement around the city, limiting their social activities.
Keywords:
Aged; Quality of life; Social participation; Locomotion.