Development and psychometric testing of the Scale of Older Adults' Routine.
OBJECTIVE
This paper is a report of a study to develop, test the reliability, convergent and criterion-related validity of the Scale of Older Adults' Routine, using measures of routinization and functional status.


BACKGROUND
The concept of routine needs a reliable and valid measure in order to allow for further expansion of research in this field.


METHODS
An instrument development procedure, followed by two studies, was conducted in 2004-2005. The validation study utilized a prospective, within-subject design. Testing took place in samples of independently dwelling residents in four retirement communities in an urban area in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America (USA). A total of 90 participants took part in the studies. A pilot study (n = 10) allowed for feasibility testing, and a prospective three-time point longitudinal study (n = 80) assessed the instrument's reliability and preliminary validity.


RESULTS
The 42-item scale describes various aspects of older adults' routines and assesses routine stability across time. The scale has five dimensions (Basic, Instrumental, Social, Leisure and Rest Activities) and five scoring systems. The scale's content validity and feasibility were high. Reliability indices were acceptable, ranging from 0.56 to 0.90 for the subscales. Validity tests showed moderate correlations with both functional indices (r = 0.29-0.56; P < 0.01) and trait routinization (r = 0.30-0.38; P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Scale of Older Adults' Routine demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties for most of its subscales and scores. Although further research is needed, it can be applied in both research and practice for evaluating routine among older adults and its associations with various outcome measures.
Zisberg
Anna
A
The Cheryl Spencer Department of Nursing, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, Haifa University, Mount Carmel, Israel. azisberg@univ.haifa.ac.il
Young
Heather M
HM
Schepp
Karen
K
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept