Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe strategies used by community dwelling elderly women to ease standing up from various household surfaces. A convenience sample of 55 community dwelling elderly women participated in this investigation. Volunteers were asked to indicate if they had difficulty rising from 6 household surfaces (dining chair, easy chair, couch, commode, bathtub, and floor) and to describe the strategies they used to facilitate rising from each surface. Their answers were coded and tabulated. The women most frequently reported using upper extremity assistance to ease the task of rising from a dining chair, easy chair, couch, or commode. Subjects revealed that getting on all fours was the primary means by which they facilitated standing up from a tub or the floor.