Mobility Matters: Differential Mobility Loss by Race and Ethnicity in Hawai'i

Mobility is a critical determinant of healthy aging. Agility, gait, balance, and fall risk, when left unassessed and unaddressed, may diminish older adults' ability to age in place, often leading to more restrictive, supervised care environments. This study examined racial and ethnic disparities in a composite mobility/functional measure in Hawai'i and the associations of selected social determinants of health (SDOH) with limitation status.

We analyzed data from the Hawai'i Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected from 2019 through 2021. The study population included community-dwelling adults aged 55 years or older from the 4 largest racial and ethnic groups in Hawai'i: White, Filipino, Japanese, and Native Hawaiian (unweighted n = 10,039; weighted population estimate = 350,922). We used weighted logistic regression to assess associations between mobility limitations and SDOH.

Mobility limitations were reported by 28% of Native Hawaiian people aged 55 years or older, compared with 17% to 19% among other groups. Native Hawaiian adults aged 55 to 64 years also had substantially higher prevalence of mobility limitations than adults of the same age in other racial and ethnic groups. Higher income was protective against mobility limitations for both Native Hawaiian and White adults. In contrast, the associations of education and health insurance with mobility limitations varied across groups, with weaker protective associations of education among Native Hawaiian adults.

Findings suggest the importance of considering mobility-focused prevention and assessment for Native Hawaiian adults before the Medicare eligibility age of 65 years. To be effective, these interventions must be culturally grounded and tailored to the unique needs and lived experiences of Native Hawaiian communities.