Psychometric properties of life-space mobility measures in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review protocol

ABSTRACT Introduction: Mobility is one of the most important contributors to healthy aging and is traditionally measured through performance-based tests. Measuring life-space mobility is a holistic way to measure the spaces individuals visited over a period of time versus what they are physically able to do. However, before a measure of life-space mobility can be widely used in research and clinical settings, it must have robust psychometric properties. The objective of this review is to summarize the psychometric properties of existing life-space mobility measures in community-dwelling older adults. Inclusion criteria: The construct is life-space mobility and the instruments are: The Nursing Home Life Space Diameter, the Life-Space Questionnaire, and the Life-Space Assessment. The population is community-dwelling older adults (age > 65). The outcome of the review includes all psychometric properties (reliability, validity, responsiveness) as well as feasibility and interpretability data. Methods: Following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) and JBI guidelines, a search strategy will be piloted and then translated to multiple databases. Two independent reviewers will conduct title/abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction, and assess the methodological quality of the studies. A narrative synthesis will be compiled for all collected data. A meta-analysis will be conducted for each psychometric property if there are enough studies with sufficiently low heterogeneity. Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42019121855