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Published on: November 7, 2014
Community ambulation: environmental impacts and assessment inadequacies
Rosemary Corrigan1, Helen McBurney
1School of Community Health, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia. rcorrigan@csu.edu.au
Disability and Rehabilitation
|August 23, 2008
Summary
Current mobility assessment tools inadequately evaluate environmental factors impacting community ambulation. Further research is needed to develop comprehensive tools for effective rehabilitation outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Rehabilitation Science
- Environmental Health
- Mobility Studies
Background:
- Community ambulation is a key goal in rehabilitation, but successful community reintegration varies among clients.
- Assessing and achieving community ambulation remains a challenge for individuals post-rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review literature on assessment tools for community ambulation status.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of these tools against environmental factors influencing community ambulation.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted using major databases (CINAHL, ProQuest, Medline).
- The review focused on English-language publications concerning community ambulation assessment.
Main Results:
- Only eight studies addressed the environmental impact on community ambulation.
- No existing assessment tools were found to evaluate all relevant environmental demands.
- Walking distance and time constraints were the most commonly assessed environmental factors.
Conclusions:
- Health professionals require tools that assess environmental impacts on mobility for accurate community ambulation status determination.
- Current assessment tools offer limited clinical utility due to insufficient depth and breadth of environmental information.
