Description of a self-care instrument for elders

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Psychometrics
• Nursing

Background:

• Assessing self-care abilities is crucial for elderly women's well-being.
• The Abilities Assessment Instrument's self-care component requires psychometric evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the self-care component of the Abilities Assessment Instrument.
• To establish the reliability and validity of this self-care measure in elderly women.

Main Methods:

• Nonparametric statistical methods were employed due to non-normally distributed data.
• Reliability was assessed using test-retest (Spearman's rho = .79) and interrater agreement (Spearman's rho = .97).
• Validity was examined through content validity (index = .89), concurrent validity with MMSE (Spearman's rho = .91), and construct validity (Mann-Whitney U = 85).

Main Results:

• High test-retest reliability (rs = .79) and interrater agreement (rs = .97) were found.
• Cronbach's alpha was .97, indicating excellent internal consistency.
• Strong evidence for content, concurrent, and construct validity was established.

Conclusions:

• The self-care component of the Abilities Assessment Instrument is a reliable and valid measure.
• This instrument is suitable for assessing self-care in elderly women, including those with cognitive impairment.