Predictors of Function and Disability in African-American Women

Murrock, Carolyn J.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011: 4:05 PM

Carolyn J. Murrock, RN, PhD
Nursing, University of Akron, Akron, OH

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the importance of assessing function and disability in community dwelling African American women.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to understand the utility of the LLFDI to predict function and disability in community dwelling African American women.

Purpose: Personal factors (age, body mass index, body fat, and comorbidity) and demographic factors (income, education, and marital status) affect functional decline and disability, especially in older adults. However, middle aged African American women have higher than average rates of obesity, obesity associated comorbidities, functional decline, and disability than the general population. Instruments developed to assess function and disability in older community dwelling adults may be able to predict function and disability in middle-aged, community dwelling African American women. Based on Nagi’s disablement framework, the Late Life Function and Disability Instrument (LLFDI) was developed as a comprehensive assessment of function and disability in community dwelling older adults. The function component consists of 32 items that assess the ability to perform discreet physical tasks encountered in daily routines. The disability component contains 16 items that assess disability frequency and 16 items about disability limitations.

Methods: The LLFDI was administered to 126 middle-aged, community dwelling African American women (M=58.7 years, SD=11.0). To determine which personal and demographic factors were predictors, separate regression equations were conducted on each dependent variable. For physical function, the overall equation explained 29% of the variance (F=13.98, p<.001) with age (β= -.52, p<.001), BMI (β= -.46, p<.01), and comorbidity (β= -.27, p<.01) most predictive. For disability frequency, none of the seven independent variables were significant predictors (R²=.02, F=.66, p=.62). The overall equation for disability limitations explained 11% of the variance (F=3.65, p<.01) with comorbidity (β= -.25, p<.01) most predictive.

Results: Personal factors were better predictors of physical function and disability limitations than demographic factors.

Conclusion: The LLFDI that was originally developed for older adults appears to be able to predict function and disability in middle-aged community dwelling African American women. This is paramount as function and disability are fundamental elements of independent living.

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