Welcome
The DEMMI is an advanced instrument for accurately measuring the mobility of older people across clinical settings
The physical ability of older people is an important indicator of their health status. Like other important indices of health, such as a blood pressure test, an accurate mobility test that can be applied to all older people across health care settings provides essential data about a fundamental characteristic of health that has relevance to all aging people.
The DEMMI was developed and validated in the acute hospital setting (based on the Rasch model) and is without practical limitations in this setting and data now supports its use in the subacute hospital setting and in the community. The DEMMI provides clinicians and researchers with an advanced method for measuring changes in mobility and enhancing the continuity of patient care across clinical settings. The DEMMI is used in usual clinical care in a broad range of clinical settings. Given the ageing population, there has never been a greater need for this instrument.
About Natalie de Morton
Dr Natalie de Morton's clinical and research expertise is in exercise and mobility for older people, both healthy and those with acute and chronic health conditions.
She graduated as a physiotherapist in 1998, completing her Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. She has more than 20 years of extensive clinical experience across hospital and community settings in Australia and overseas.
She completed her Research Honours thesis on measuring lower limb strength and later went on to complete her PhD in 2007 at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, on measuring mobility and the effects of exercise for older people. Her PhD was the body of work that led to the development of the DEMMI.
Natalie was previously the Clinical Physiotherapy Lead at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne Australia, where she designed exercise programs for people with cancer and cancer survivors.
Natalie now designs individually tailored exercise programs for adults of all ages to optimise their ageing trajectory. She consults 1:1 and leads classes for groups in her local area, and individually tailored consults and exercise programs 1:1 online are available. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Dr de Morton for an online consult, please click on the link below.
