Table 2 The most prevalent environmental barriers in the housing sections, and number of barriers at baseline (n = 397)
Environmental barrier | Occurrence of barriers % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Outdoors | |||
Insufficient maneuvering space by the mail box or refuse bin | 49.0 | ||
Poorly drained paths and roadways | 42.9 | ||
Unstable walking surface | 41.9 | ||
No tactile cues of abrupt level changes | 41.2 | ||
No/too few seating places | 37.9 | ||
Entrance | |||
Stairs the only route | 46.7 | ||
Doors that cannot be fastened in the open position | 45.7 | ||
Narrow door | 45.7 | ||
No level area in front of entrance door | 42.2 | ||
No handrails | 39.1 | ||
Indoors | |||
Inappropriate design of door to laundry room | 49.7 | ||
Toilet with standard height | 49.2 | ||
Complex maneuvers are needed to use the apparatus | 49.2 | ||
Apparatus/controls in very high/ inaccessible place in general | 48.7 | ||
Bathtub | 48.5 | ||
Number of environmental barriers | Mean | SD | Range |
Outdoor section (0–33) | 12.5 | 3.5 | 3-22 |
Entrance section (0–49) | 12.3 | 5.8 | 2-32 |
Indoor section (0–100) | 37.9 | 6.7 | 18-59 |