Table 3 Conceptual frameworks of mobility reported in the literature

Conceptual frameworks in which mobility can be assessed within a broader framework

Verbrugge & Jette 1994 [29]

Disability: difficulty doing activities in any domain of life due to a health or physical problem.

The Disablement Process, a socio-medical model describes how chronic and acute conditions affect functioning in specific body systems, generic physical and mental actions, and activities of daily life, and describes the personal and environmental factors that speed or slow disablement, namely, risk factors, interventions, and exacerbators.

Concepts:

● Pathology

● Impairments (risk factors)

● Functional limitations: intra-individual factors (lifestyle & behaviour, psychosocial attributes & coping, activity accommodations) extra-individual factors (medical care & rehabilitation, medications & other therapeutic regimens, external supports, built, physical & social environment)

● Disability

Pathway from pathology to various kinds of functional outcomes

WHO ICF, 2001 [15]

Functioning: all body functions, activities and participation.

Disability: impairments, activity limitations or participation restrictions.

Health: a state of physical, mental and social well-being in which disease and infirmity are absent.

A classification of health and health-related domains, domains to describe changes in body function and structure, what a person with a health condition can do in a standard environment (their level of capacity), and what they actually do in their usual environment (their level of performance).

Components:

● Body functions and structures

● Activities and participation: capacity, performance

● Environmental factors

● Personal factors

Determinants and outcomes of health and health-related states

Tomey & Sowers, 2009 [30]

Physical functioning: being supported by physical abilities, as well as by those in the cognitive domain.

The PF-E conceptual model addresses the need for physical functioning assessments that reflect performance capacity, environmental factors, and coping and compensation strategies.

[not reported]

● Performance capacity

● Environmental factors (indoor and outdoor)

● Compensation/coping strategies

Assessment of physical functioning

Conceptual frameworks primarily conceptualising mobility

Routhier et al. 2003 [27]

Mobility: any movements that lead to a change in position or location by one’s own means performed with or without technical assistance.

Wheelchair mobility: being able to move the chair and use its accessories, such as the brakes or control interface.

Relational model of wheelchair mobility, a performance assessment framework, encompassing theoretical and conceptual views of wheelchair use found in various fields, particularly rehabilitation, social integration, occupational therapy, engineering, wheelchair design and sociology.

Categories of factors:

● Occupation and social participation

● Wheelchair (mechanical, electronic and ergonomic aspects)

● Assessment and training

● Daily activities and social roles

● Environment (physical dimension, socio-cultural dimension)

● User’s profile (medical & physical profiles, personality, attitude & temperament, socio-cultural relations & spirituality)

Influencing factors of mobility

Yeom et al. 2008 [9]

Mobility limitations: a state of impaired mobility, a condition in which an individual experience a limitation in independent physical movement, or is at risk for experiencing limitations.

An assessment guideline and intervention strategies for mobility limitations in older adults based on a social-ecological framework.

Factors:

● Intrapersonal factors: demographics, comorbid conditions, motivational, lifestyle and physiological factors

● Interpersonal factors: high interpersonal dependency, lack of social relations & participation

● Environmental factors: inconvenient indoor environment, lack of availability of services in local area, feeling of insecurity

Risk factors of mobility

Webber et al. 2010 [11]

Mobility: ability to move oneself (e.g., by walking, by using assistive devices, or by using transportation) within community environments that expand from one’s home, to the neighbourhood, and to regions beyond

Conical model illustrating seven life-space locations (world, surrounding area, service community, neighbourhood, outdoors, home, rooms), composing mobility determinants related to cognitive, psychosocial, physical, environmental, and financial factors. Gender, culture, and biographical influences exerting influence on all of the mobility determinants.

Categories of determinants:

● Financial

● Psychosocial

● Environmental

● Physical

● Cognitive

● Gender, Cultural and Biographical Influences

Determinants of mobility

Franke et al. 2020 [31]

Mobility: ability to move oneself (e.g., by walking, by using assistive devices, or by using transportation) within community environments that expand from one’s home, to the neighbourhood, and to regions beyond

An adapted mobility framework (from Webber et al. 2010) using a physiological, subjective, contextual and temporal approach, that provides a more comprehensive conceptualisation of the nature and processes of older adults’ mobility. The temporal approach reveals the dynamic, fluid and experiential nature of mobility by analysing factors within and between people and their environments, over time.

Concepts:

● Physiological: physical, chronic conditions, cognition

● Subjective: psychological, attitudes, perceptions

● Context: financial, built, social, natural environment, culture

● Temporal: factors within and between people and their environments, over time

Determinants of mobility