title: Assessing met and unmet needs in the oldest-old and psychometric properties of the German version of the Camberwell assessment of need for the elderly (CANE)--a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The current demographic and social developments in our society will lead to a significant increase in treatment and healthcare needs in the future, particularly in the elderly population. The Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) was developed in the United Kingdom to measure physical-, psychological-, and environment-related treatment as well as healthcare needs of older people in order to identify their unmet needs. So far, the German version of the CANE has not been established in health services research. Major reasons for this are a lack of publications of CANE's German version and the missing validation of the instrument.
  
  
  METHODS
  The aims of the present study were to evaluate the currently available German version of the CANE in a sample of older primary care patients. Descriptive statistics and inference-statistical analyses were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients reported unmet needs mostly in CANE's following sections: mobility/falls, physical health, continence, company, and intimate relationships. Agreement level between patients' and relatives' ratings in CANE was moderate to low. Evidence for the construct validity of CANE was found in terms of significant associations between CANE and other instruments or scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study results provide an important basis for studies aiming at the assessment of met and unmet needs in the elderly population. Using the German version of the CANE may substantially contribute to an effective and good-quality health and social care as well as an appropriate allocation of healthcare resources in the elderly population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luppa
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Helmut
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: König
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffi G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Riedel-Heller
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D005858:Germany; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000523:psychology*; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating