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Life-space mobility (LSM) is critical to aging successfully since it is essential to maintain independence, affecting the health and quality of life of older adults. During the COVID-19 pandemic older adults, who are at high-risk of serious illness and complications, are restricted by stay-at-home orders, limiting their outdoor activities. This study evaluated differences in LSM before and during the pandemic and factors related to limited pre-hospitalization mobility. We used a natural experiment design comparing LSM one month prior to hospitalization and its related factors on two subsamples of hospitalized older adults: recruited before and after February 2020 (pandemic outbreak). No significant differences were observed in LSM between pre-pandemic (N=141, M(SD)=54.9(33,5)) and during-pandemic (N=186, M(SD)=55.3(32.9)) samples, even after adjustment for cognitive, functional, and demographic characteristics (F=2.281, p=0.13). Of those who participated during the pandemic, a total of 94 (50.5%) declared that their mobility was strongly affected by the pandemic and had significantly lower LSM (F=4.626, p |
