Analysis of Elderly Mobility by Structural Equation Modeling

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Abstract
Mobility is a critical element of quality of life. This is as true for the elderly population as for the larger population. The elderly often have limited physical abilities and financial constraints that might reduce their mobility. Helping the growing elderly population to maintain decent mobility is a critical challenge for transportation planning and policy. For this, the factors that influence the mobility of the elderly population (elderly mobility) must be understood. Only a few systematic studies, however, have been published. Descriptive statistics of the potentially influential factors make it difficult to assess their effects on elderly mobility. The transportation mobility of retired people age 65 years or older in the Puget Sound region of Washington State was analyzed by using a structural equation model. The statistical significance and relative effects of various personal and household characteristics and urban form on elderly mobility were tested. The structural equation model finds statistically significant relationships between age, gender, transportation disability, possession of a driver's license, and education level and elderly mobility. Among these variables, age and education level show the strongest effects. Urban form, however, seems to be insignificant.