Development of Elderly Quality of Life Index--EqoLI: item reduction and distribution into dimensions

To describe item reduction and its distribution into dimensions in the construction process of a quality of life evaluation instrument for the elderly.

The sampling method was chosen by convenience through quotas, with selection of elderly subjects from four programs to achieve heterogeneity in the "health status", "functional capacity", "gender", and "age" variables. The Clinical Impact Method was used, consisting of the spontaneous and elicited selection by the respondents of relevant items to the construct Quality of Life in Old Age from a previously elaborated item pool. The respondents rated each items importance using a 5-point Likert scale. The product of the proportion of elderly selecting the item as relevant (frequency) and the mean importance score they attributed to it (importance) represented the overall impact of that item in their quality of life (impact). The items were ordered according to their impact scores and the top 46 scoring items were grouped in dimensions by three experts. A review of the negative items was performed.

One hundred and ninety three people (122 women and 71 men) were interviewed. Experts distributed the 46 items into eight dimensions. Closely related items were grouped and dimensions not reaching the minimum expected number of items received additional items resulting in eight dimensions and 43 items.

The sample was heterogeneous and similar to what was expected. The dimensions and items demonstrated the multidimensionality of the construct. The Clinical Impact Method was appropriate to construct the instrument, which was named Elderly Quality of Life Index--EQoLI. An accuracy process will be examined in the future.