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The Use Of Mobility Devices And Personal Assistance: A Joint Modeling Approach, Hongdao Meng, Lindsay J. Peterson, Lijuan Feng, Debra Dobbs, Kathryn Hyer
The Use Of Mobility Devices And Personal Assistance: A Joint Modeling Approach, Hongdao Meng, Lindsay J. Peterson, Lijuan Feng, Debra Dobbs, Kathryn Hyer
Aging Studies Faculty Publications
Objective: To examine whether mobility device use substitutes for personal assistance among U.S. older adults.
Method: Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study, we identified 3,211 community-living older adults (aged 65 and older) who reported mobility difficulties at baseline. We used recursive bivariate probit models to simultaneously estimate the effect of covariates on the likelihood of using (a) mobility devices and (b) personal assistance to accommodate mobility difficulty. Independent variables included age, gender, race, physical/mental health status, cognition, and comorbidities.
Results: Predictors of the use of personal assistance and mobility devices exhibit important similarities and differences. Device use reduced …