Impact of a nurse-led in-hospital mobility intervention on older adult patient functional outcomes and perceptions

Authors

Barbara King, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School or Nursing, 701 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, USA.
Mary Hook, Advocate Health - MidwestFollow
Roger Brown, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School or Nursing, 701 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, USA.
Jillian Bodden-Hoenisch, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School or Nursing, 701 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, USA; University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation, Madison, WI, USA.
Elizabeth Ann Wall, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School or Nursing, 701 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, USA; Rogers Behavioral Health, Oconomowoc, WI, USA.
Cynthia J. Brown, LA. Louisiana State University Health Center, Department of Medicine, 433 Bolivar St. New Orleans, USA.
Linsey M. Steege, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School or Nursing, 701 Highland Ave, Madison, WI, USA. Electronic address: lsteege@wisc.edu.

Recommended Citation

King B, Hook M, Brown R, et al. Impact of a nurse-led in-hospital mobility intervention on older adult patient functional outcomes and perceptions. Geriatr Nurs. Published online January 27, 2026. doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2026.103897

Affiliations

Institute of Nursing Excellence

Abstract

Hospital-associated disabilities in older adults are common. Few studies have used a performance measure to evaluate the impact of ambulation on patient functional status during and after discharge or investigated older adult perceptions of ambulation during a hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of MOVIN (Mobilizing Older adults Via a systems-based INtervention) on older adult functional performance outcomes and to understand patients perceptions of mobility during their hospital stay. A non-randomized observational study using a quasi-experimental design was conducted. Multiple methods using quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Functional measures included gait speed and self-report on the Katz Activities of Daily Living scale and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Life Space Mobility Index. In-person interviews were used to collect qualitative data. The study was conducted on a 23-bed adult medical unit at an academic medical center. Older adults (N = 40) were recruited for data collection during their hospital stay and post-discharge. General linear mixed random-effects modeling was used to analyze functional outcomes. Inductive content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The intervention group had a significant increase in gait speed at discharge compared to admission (p = 0.022) and at 3 months (p = 0.006) compared to discharge and a significant increase in UAB score between admission to 3 months post-discharge (p = 0.049). Qualitative results identified four categories Maintaining Health, Being Connected, Filling Time and Ready to Go Home, which describe the patient perception. This study provides evidence that an in-hospital mobility intervention can have significant impacts on older adults functional performance and psycho-social outcomes.

Document Type

Article

PubMed ID

41604809