Reliability and validity of the Geriatric Self-Care Scale among Chinese older adults

Although the Geriatric Self-Care Scale (GSS) has been widely used in community investigations in China, its reliability and validity have yet to be analyzed.

This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the GSS in community-dwelling Chinese older adults.

This prospective observational study included 29428 older adults. Content validity was analyzed using the Content Validity Index (CVI). Reliability analysis included internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Differences in participants who could live independently versus those who could not were analyzed for discriminant validity. The Barthel Index was used as the gold standard. Spearman's correlation and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to assess convergent validity.

The CVI for the GSS was 0.920, with CVI values of 1.000, 0.900, 1.000, 0.800 and 0.900. The Cronbach's alpha for the GSS was 0.869 (for all participants) and 0.867 (for participants aged ≥ 65 years) and the item Cronbach's alpha coefficients were all >0.8. The Pearson and intraclass correlation coefficients for both the scale and each item were greater than 0.8. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between participants who could live independently and those who could not. There were significant correlations (p < 0.05) between the GSS and Barthel Index for each item and the total score. ROC analysis revealed that all areas under the curve were greater than 0.8, with a sensitivity and specificity exceeding 0.8.

The GSS showed good reliability and validity among community-dwelling older adults in China.