An analysis of elderly clients' views of mobility

This article presents findings from part of a larger qualitative study designed to explore the concept of mobility within the context of concept development. Primary nurses and their elderly clients made up the two study samples. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using thematic content-analysis techniques. In this article, only data from the client sample are reported. Findings suggested that the elderly clients defined mobility in terms of three interrelated dimensions: physical, cognitive, and social. From client descriptions of mobility, six qualities emerged: ease and freedom of movement, independence, automaticity, purposefulness, self-environmental awareness, and continuity.