Physical Function and Residential Relocation of Older Adults Living With Chronic Conditions

Environmental Gerontology has shown that mobility difficulty can be a barrier to aging in place when the home environment is not physically accessible. However, difficulty may vary by underlying chronic conditions. Using data from a cohort of community-dwelling adults age 65 or older in the 2011-2019 National Health and Aging Trends Study, we found that mobility difficulty was associated with moving to housing with fewer environmental barriers. Mobility difficulty was not associated with moving to other destinations, such as housing with the same or more barriers, or nursing home. Those with dementia or cancer were more likely to move to a nursing home, and those with cancer were less likely to move to housing with the same or more barriers. However, having these chronic conditions did not change the relationship between mobility difficulty and relocation. These findings suggest that addressing mobility and reducing environmental barriers may promote aging in place.