Grant: CIHR Fellowship

One in three Canadians over the age of 65 have some form of restriction in physical functioning that interferes with their ability to move around within their environment. Problems in physical functioning are predictive of risk for future disability, institutionalization and mortality. Consequently, there is increasing focus on identifying the best physical function screening tools to identify at-risk patients who need early treatment. However, before we can implement appropriate treatment and prevention programs, there is a need to improve our understanding of existing measures of physical function. There is also a need to determine which types of physical problems contribute most to risk of future disability; this information is essential for designing the most effective treatment strategies. The purpose of this study is to estimate the increments of change in measures of function and disability that are likely to be most meaningful to patients and clinicians, and to identify which physical problems influence decline in function and disability over time. This information will allow us to develop a risk stratification tool to identify older adults who are at the greatest risk for developing restrictions in physical functioning and who need early preventative treatment.