The number of participants with and without personal care who used the walking aid during the walking tests were 2593 (38.2%) and 35 (1.0%), respectively.
If a walking aid was usually used inside the home, then the walking aid was used during the test.
With respect to gait speed, residents are asked to walk 10 meters at maximum walking speed, using their walking aid if necessary (two attempts with the better performance being scored).
Residents are asked to stand up from a chair, walk three meters (using their walking aid if necessary), return to the chair, and sit down again as fast as they can.
Seventy-nine percent of participants walked independently in the hospital, most of them using a walking aid, but some (13%) reported to be non-ambulatory at all.
The inclusion criteria were age above 65 years, ability to understand simple commands, able to walk independently without using a walking aid, no major orthopedic or other medical disorder that might affect independent living, and no serious uncorrected visual or hearing impairments.
Of the 44 participants, 37 wore spectacles, 13 used a walking aid (walking stick or rollator), and 3 used a hearing aid.
The SPPB requests residents to stand side-by-side, semi-tandem, and full-tandem, for 10 seconds each, to walk a distance of four meters at maximum speed using their walking aid if necessary (two attempts with the better performance being scored), and to perform five timed chair stands with their arms folded across their chest.
Twenty two (52%) patients using a walking aid reported falls in the preceding 6 months compared to 28% of those who did not require a walking aid.
