[Reliability of the instrument for classifying elderly people's capacity for self-care].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the reliability of an instrument for classifying elderly people regarding their capacity for self-care, which was developed to assist occupational therapists in attending elderly people at primary healthcare units.


METHODS
Stability and internal consistency tests were carried out. To validate the instrument, tests were applied to a sample of 30 individuals aged 60 years and over, on two occasions. The statistical analysis was performed after careful grouping of the responses. This led to the formulation of a simplified version of the instrument. The stability of this version was assessed using the kappa coefficient and the internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha coefficient.


RESULTS
The stability ranged from moderate to excellent. The internal consistency was checked only for areas that were shown to be appropriate for using the methodology, based on calculations of Cronbach's alpha: three of the six questions in the "social profile" area and the blocks of basic and instrumental activities of daily living in the "functional capacity" area, which respectively consisted of nine and eight activities.


CONCLUSIONS
Following the stability and internal consistency tests, the instrument made it possible to succinctly and simply classify elderly people with regard to their functional capacity for basic and instrumental activities, and to characterize them regarding other aspects of self-care. The evidence regarding its reliability and validity could be expanded by means of new studies.
Almeida
Maria Helena Morgani de
MH
Departamento de Fisioterapia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. hmorgani@usp.br
de Pinho Spínola
Aracy Witt
AW
Iwamizu
Paula Stefanoni
PS
Okura
Roberta Irie Sumi
RI
Barroso
Lucia Pereira
LP
Lima
Antonio Carlos Pedroso de
AC
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires