Case finding in the elderly: a postal questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate a postal questionnaire designed to identify elderly persons in need of geriatric evaluation and intervention in the community.


METHODS
A sample of elderly persons, over 75 years, was randomly selected from the age-sex register of four general practices in the Auckland area. All respondents filled out postal questionnaires and a blinded assessment was made in their own homes using validated geriatric assessment tools (the reference test). Objective evaluations were compared to self report questionnaire results and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated.


RESULTS
Sixty-four persons aged 75-93 were evaluated. Thirty-nine subjects (61%) answered the questionnaire in a way which indicated they had one or more unmet needs. Reference test evaluations showed that 23 persons (36%) had problems in one or more areas. Sensitivity for the questionnaire was 0.78 (18/23 correctly identified) and specificity was 0.49. Positive and negative predictive values were 46% and 80% respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
A postal questionnaire may be a useful adjunct to health surveillance of the elderly in general practice in New Zealand.
Kerse
N
N
Department of General Practice, University of Auckland School of Medicine.
Clark
F
F
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires