Assessment tools to measure the vulnerability of older people: a systematic review protocol of measurement properties

This review will critically appraise, compare, and summarize the quality of the measurement properties of vulnerability tools for older people.

Various tools exist to assess the vulnerability of older adults. These tools evaluate different dimensions of vulnerability, including identifying vulnerable older adults and conceptualizing vulnerability as an accumulation of social deficits. They also quantify vulnerability based on health, social, and economic risk factors; evaluate perceptions of vulnerability according to physiological, psychological, socioeconomic, social, and environmental dimensions; and evaluate risks or uncontrollable events. Identifying the most precise tools for vulnerability assessments will help health care professionals anticipate complications and prevent injuries.

Eligibility will be determined according to the following criteria: Population (older people); Instrument (self-reported questionnaires); Construct (health vulnerability); Outcomes (measurement properties); and Types of studies (methodological and observational studies-all types of studies that evaluate the measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures).

This review will follow the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments for systematic reviews of patient-reported outcome measures (COSMIN). The review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Outcome Measurement Instruments (PRISMA-COSMIN for OMIs). Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, assessment of methodological quality, data extraction, data synthesis, and assessment of certainty in the findings. The COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist will be used to evaluate methodological quality. The evidence will be summarized for each measurement property and the overall result will be rated against the criteria for measurement properties to determine the grading of evidence as high, moderate, low, or very low. The certainty of the evidence will be assessed using the modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

PROSPERO CRD42023460483.