TY - JOUR PY - 2023// TI - What do older Canadians think they need to walk well? JO - Physiotherapy Canada A1 - Abou-Sharkh, Ahmed A1 - Mate, Kedar K. V. A1 - Inceer, Mehmet A1 - Morais, José A. A1 - Morin, Suzanne N. A1 - Mayo, Nancy E. SP - 198 EP - 205 VL - 75 IS - 2 N2 - PURPOSE: To identify older Canadians' perception of the importance of expert-generated elements of walking quality, and the contributors to and consequences of perceived walking quality.

METHOD: Cross-sectional survey of 649 adults was conducted through a commercial participant panel, Hosted in Canada Surveys.

RESULTS: Of the 649 respondents, 75% were between 65 and 74 years old (25% ≥ 75) and 49% were women. The most important elements were foot, ankle, hip, and knee mobility with little difference in ranks across walking perception (Fr χ(12) = 5.0, p > 0.05). People who were older by a decade were more likely to report poorer walking (POR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0, 1.7), as were women compared to men, and people who used a walking aid compared to none. Lung disease showed the highest association with a perception of not walking well (POR: 7.2; 95% CI: 3.7, 14.2). The odds of being willing to pay more for a technology to improve walking were always greater for those with a lower perception of their walking quality.

CONCLUSIONS: People who perceived their walking quality as poor were more likely to report poorer health and were willing to pay more for a technology to improve walking. This supports the opportunity of leveraging wearable technologies to improve walking.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0300-0508 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/ptc-2021-0021 ID - ref1 ER -