Life Starts at Home: Bathing, Exertion and Participation for People With Mobility Impairment

Objective: To investigate the relationship between perceived exertion while bathing/dressing/grooming and associations with social-recreational activities outside the home for individuals with mobility impairment (MI). Design: A 2-study approach was used to examine data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) and primary data from the Health and Home Survey (HHS). The relationship between bathing/dressing/grooming and engagement in social-recreational activities was explored, as well as the role that exertion in the bathroom may play in participation in these activities. Setting: General community setting. Participants: For the ATUS survey, participants (n=6002) included individuals who reported an MI. For the HHS, 2 mail-based recruitment methods were used to recruit a sample of individuals with MI (n=170) across 3 geographically diverse U.S. communities. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Participation in social and recreational activities. Results: People with MI (relative to those without MI) were less likely to report spending any time bathing/dressing/grooming on a given day, but spent more time when they did. People with MI reported higher exertion while bathing/dressing/grooming than people without. People with MI were less likely to leave the house or engage in social-recreational activities on days where they did not engage in bathing activities. People who reported greater exertion in the bathroom engaged in fewer social-recreational activities. Conclusions: Exertion in the bathroom may present a barrier to participation, indicating a relationship between exertion in the bathroom and social-recreational participation. Research that examines the impact of home modifications on exertion and participation is needed. (C) 2018 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine