The Personal Component of Accessibility at Group Level: Exploring the Complexity of Functional Capacity

In order to support the development of accessibility research, the main objective of this study was to explore how functional capacity, i.e. the personal component of the concept of accessibility, can be operationalized at group level, and to study its complexity in an ageing process perspective. Prior to this exploration it was necessary to elucidate the relationship between self-reported diagnoses and profiles of functional limitations, and to investigate the frequency of functional limitations longitudinally. At baseline and at six-year follow-up, data were collected with 72 elderly persons. Self-reports on diagnoses were accomplished and functional limitations were assessed by means of a standardized assessment. No general patterns of profiles of functional limitations related to any of the diagnoses could be found. Profiles of functional limitations were classified by means of hierarchical cluster analyses, and common denominators were identified. The results revealed increasing complexity with increasing age. The ultimate goal for accessibility research is to outline a set of profiles of functional limitations representing different user groups that could be utilized in more efficient analyses prior to physical planning decisions at society level, and this study is a first step in this direction.

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