The identification of seniors at risk screening tool: further evidence of concurrent and predictive validity.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity of the Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) screening tool for detecting severe functional impairment and depression and predicting increased depressive symptoms and increased utilization of health services.


METHODS
Four university-affiliated hospitals in Montreal.


METHODS
Data from two previous studies were available: Study 1, in which the ISAR scale was developed (n=1,122), and Study 2, in which it was used to identify patients for a randomized trial of a nursing intervention (n=1,889 with administrative data, of which 520 also had clinical data).


METHODS
Patients aged 65 and older who were to be released from an emergency department (ED).


METHODS
Baseline validation criteria included premorbid functional status in both studies and depression in Study 2 only. Increase in depressive symptoms at 4-month follow-up was assessed in Study 2. Information on health services utilization during the 5 months after the ED visit (repeat ED visits and hospitalization in both studies, visits to community health centers in Study 2) was available by linkage with administrative databases.


RESULTS
Estimates of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for concurrent validity of the ISAR scale for severe functional impairment and depression ranged from 0.65 to 0.86. Estimates of the AUC for predictive validity for increased depressive symptoms and high utilization of health services ranged from 0.61 to 0.71.


CONCLUSIONS
The ISAR scale has acceptable to excellent concurrent and predictive validity for a variety of outcomes, including clinical measures and utilization of health services.
Dendukuri
Nandini
N
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies, St. Mary's Hospital, Montreal, Canada. epidemiology.st-mary@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
McCusker
Jane
J
Belzile
Eric
E
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011792:Quebec; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity