Mobility – A Predictor and Outcome Variable in Studies of Chronic Disease

Please join us for a Joint GWU/CTSI-CN/Washington DC VA Informatics Seminar taking place Wednesday, March 26th, Noon - 1pm Eastern Daylight Time. Dr. Richard Allman will present: 

Mobility – A Predictor and Outcome Variable in Studies of Chronic Disease

When asked, maintenance of function in the domain of mobility is one of the most important factors relevant to quality of life for those with chronic diseases.  Historically, most research in this area has focused on tasks related to mobility such as walking, climbing stairs, or balance rather than where people purposely go to participate in social activities of importance to them. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Life-Space Assessment measures the full range of community mobility and reflects social participation and health-related quality of life.  Life-space predicts adverse health outcomes such as death, nursing home admissions, cognitive decline, and disability.  Randomized, controlled trials show that life-space declines can be prevented. Risk factors for lifespace declines have been identified.   Life-space has been most frequently studied in older populations but has also been used to study younger adults with cystic fibrosis. This presentation will provide an overview of available data on life-space mobility and discuss the implications for research.   

Richard Allman has held an appointment as Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences since 2017.  In this role, he has served as a lecturer for Geriatric Medicine post-doctoral fellows and as a Senior Advisor for the GWU Center for Aging, Health, and Humanities. Most recently he has served as one of the research mentors for Dr. Senait Tekle and Dr. Adnan Lakdawala, two post-doctoral trainees in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership.  Richard currently holds academic appointments as Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UAB, and as an Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest University in addition to his appointment at GWU. 

Richard obtained his undergraduate degree and MD at West Virginia University (WVU).  After completing a residency in internal medicine at WVU, he pursued research training at Johns Hopkins University as a fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine.  He subsequently served as a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for nearly 28 years where he served as the director of the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care and the Comprehensive Center for Aging.  While at UAB, he was project director for the longitudinal UAB Study of Aging and the founding director for the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) hosted by the VA Medical Centers in Birmingham, AL and Atlanta, GA.  He has more than 220 peer-reviewed publications.