Development and validation of the mobility in middle-age questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Mobility decline often starts in midlife, necessitating early identification for preventative interventions.
• Currently, no validated self-report tool specifically assesses mobility in middle-aged populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Mobility in Middle-Age Questionnaire (MMQ) for assessing mobility in middle-aged adults.
• To establish the psychometric properties of the MMQ, including reliability and validity.

Main Methods:

• The MMQ was developed using a 7-step Delphi process with 10 experts, including content validation in English and Hebrew.
• Psychometric properties were evaluated in 610 US and 594 Israeli adults, assessing internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity against the PF-10 scale.
• A 'Potential Mobility Risk Zone' was defined as the lowest 20% of MMQ scores.

Main Results:

• The MMQ demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .94 English; .92 Hebrew) and strong test-retest reliability (ICC = .89-.90).
• Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good model fit, explaining 66% of the variance.
• The MMQ exhibited significantly lower ceiling effects compared to the PF-10 scale, with a preliminary 'Potential Mobility Risk' threshold set at a score of 50.

Conclusions:

• The MMQ is a reliable and valid instrument for detecting early signs of mobility decline in midlife adults.
• Further longitudinal research is recommended to confirm the MMQ's predictive capabilities and responsiveness to change over time.