[Social aspects in diagnosis and therapy of very elderly patients. Initial experiences with a newly developed questionnaire within the scope of geriatric assessment].
To evaluate social aspects of elderly patients which are important for diagnosis and therapy within geriatric assessment, a questionnaire was developed and validated. Raters showed a high degree of agreement on the scale, which contains social contacts and support, activities, economic situation, and housing conditions (0.92-0.97; p < 0.05). Compared to the interrater reliability the test-retest reliability was somewhat lower (0.75), but also significant at the 5% level. The internal consistency showed high values between 0.72-0.89. In order to evaluate the validity of the screening test the answers of the patients were compared with the assessment of the therapeutic team. The team had information from a home visit, patients spouse, relatives, neighbors, community nurses and/or general practitioners. There was a significant relationship (p < 0.01) between therapeutic assessment and the scale (r = 0.51). Sensitivity, specificity, and total efficiency also attained sufficiently high values at a cut-off of 16/17 for the complete scale (max. 25 points). The test is easily and quickly performed; its acceptance is high. Social data relevant for treatment and discharge planning can thus be obtained and patients can be identified, for whom a home visit seems to be useful.
Geriatrisches Zentrum Bethanien am Klinikum der Universität Heidelberg.
T
T
Nikolaus
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N
Specht-Leible
M
M
Bach
P
P
Oster
G
G
Schlierf
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Soziale Aspekte bei Diagnostik und Therapie hochbetagter Patienten. Erste Erfahrungen mit einem neu entwickelten Fragebogen im Rahmen des geriatrischen Assessment.