Chronic pain among older adults and its impact on satisfaction with social participation: development and validation of the "Instrument to Assess Older Adults' Social Participation". A descriptive quantitative study

BACKGROUND

We aimed to develop and validate a practical instrument to assess older adults' satisfaction with their social participation (SP).

DESIGN AND SETTING

This methodological validation study was conducted at a public higher education institution.

METHODS

A two-phase study was designed, developed, and validated to assess older adults' satisfaction with their SP. In the first phase, we conceptualized SP and developed an "instrument to assess older adults' satisfaction with their SP (IAPSI)," as approved by a committee of specialists, pre-tested, and partially validated. Second, we determined the IAPSI's reproducibility using Cronbach's alpha to measure internal consistency, Pearson's and Spearman's coefficients to measure correlations, the Bland-Altman plot and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to measure reproducibility. We also generated a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

RESULTS

102 older adults (mean age, 87.29) participated in the first phase. Moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.7) and significant moderate correlations with quality of life by World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-bref and by WHOQOL-old social domains (Pearson's coefficients 0.54 and 0.64, respectively; P < 0.001) were found. The ROC curve indicated an IAPSI score of 17 as the threshold for the impact of pain on satisfaction with SP (83.3% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity, P < 0.001). In the second phase, 56 older adults (between 81 and 90 years old) participated. We found adequate intra- and inter-observer reproducibility for the IAPSI (ICC 0.96 and 0.78, respectively).

CONCLUSION

We have developed a practical instrument with appropriate psychometric properties to assess older adults' satisfaction with their SP.

Algorithm for screening and management of locomotive syndrome in elderly individuals and development of a short version of the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese

OBJECTIVE

To develop a short version of the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese and to create an algorithm for locomotive syndrome screening and management.

METHODS

The 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese was applied to individuals aged 60 years or older seen at the Geriatrics and Gerontology Department of Universidade Federal de São Paulo, between 2016 and 2018. Items of the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese were submitted to exploratory factor analysis using the principal component method. Internal consistency was investigated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The ROC curve was used to determine the cut-off point of the short version developed. Finally, a simple and objective algorithm was created for locomotive syndrome screening and management using the Delphi method.

RESULTS

A total of 202 elderly individuals aged 61 to 101 years (mean age, 84.67 years) were evaluated. Fifteen items were excluded from the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese to compose the 10-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese, a 10-item instrument with appropriate psychometric properties. A cut-off point of ten (ROC curve) was determined for potential locomotive syndrome, with 96.5% sensitivity and 86.2% specificity. A very simple algorithm was developed for locomotive syndrome screening and management.

CONCLUSION

The short version (10-question) of the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale-Portuguese has appropriate psychometric properties and provides a practical tool for detection of locomotive problems in elderly individuals.