Assembling a toolkit to measure geriatric rehabilitation outcomes.

Abstract

To gather and assemble relevant patient-based outcome measures with emphasis placed on the older adults' level of functioning and activity performance. The study was conducted in two phases. First, a set of relevant measurement instruments was identified, and their was value analyzed according to general characteristics and metrologic criteria. Second, this "toolkit" was pretested on 22 older adults with respect to the burden of assessment and the quality of the data. The toolkit includes eight measurement instruments related to mobility, basic activities of daily living, independent living, leisure, physical functioning, psychologic functioning, social functioning, and caregiver status. Participants' acceptance of the toolkit was high, with all subjects completing the toolkit in two sessions (30-90 mins each). The leisure participation and satisfaction measure was the most difficult to complete. Distributional properties were adequate to ascertain variability between subjects, except for a ceiling effect found for the social functioning measure. Measurement tools that are used in combination are needed to optimize the applicability and utility of outcome results. The toolkit has the potential to become a valuable method for researchers and clinicians reporting geriatric rehabilitation outcomes.