Description of a self-care instrument for elders

The psychometric properties of the self-care component of the Abilities Assessment Instrument were studied with elderly women. Thirty of the participants were cognitively impaired and 20 participants were not. Nonparametric statistics were used as the data were not normally distributed. Using the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient, test-retest reliability was rs = .79; p < .01 (n = 10) and interrater agreement was rs = .97; p < .01 (n = 9). Cronbach's alpha was .97. Between two content experts, the index of content validity was .89. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing the self-care scores with the MMSE scores (rs = .91; p < .01). To establish construct validity, the self-care scores of those with dementia were shown to be statistically different from those who did not have dementia (Mann-Whitney U = 85). This study provided evidence for the reliability and validity of this self-care instrument.