One-Year Changes in Activities of Daily Living, Usability, Falls and Concerns about Falling, and Self-Rated Health for Different Housing Adaptation Client Profiles

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate one-year changes and differences in changes in activities of daily living (ADL), usability, a history of falls, concerns about falling, and self-rated health across five housing adaptation (HA) client profiles identified previously using a cluster analysis approach: older adults with low level of disability (n = 59); older adults with medium/high level of disability (n = 26); adults with low level of disability (n = 10); adults with high level of disability (n = 8); and older adults with medium level of disability including at least moderate cognitive impairment (n = 5). Comparisons between the five profiles include secondary analyses aggregating those with low level of disability and those with medium/high level of disability. Changes within the client profiles demonstrate a complex pattern of improvements and declines, depending on outcome, with no profile showing consistent improvement or decline across all outcomes. The risks of deterioration over one year were the highest among those with cognitive impairments at baseline, but no recommendation of prioritization decisions based on baseline profiles can be made. Instead, it seems that all HA clients, independently of baseline profile, are at risk of increasing disability over time and require follow-up evaluations regularly.