Dataset Information

Multidimensional structure of the Groningen Frailty Indicator in community-dwelling older people.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Due to the rapidly increasing number of older people worldwide, the prevalence of frailty among older adults is expected to escalate in coming decades. It is crucial to recognize early onset symptoms to initiate specific preventive care. Therefore, early detection of frailty with appropriate screening instruments is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the underlying dimensionality of the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI), a widely used self-report screening instrument for identifying frail older adults. In addition, criterion validity of GFI subscales was examined and composition of GFI scores was evaluated.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate the structural validity, internal consistency and criterion validity of the GFI questionnaire in older adults aged 65 years and older. All subjects completed the GFI questionnaire (n = 1508). To assess criterion validity, a smaller sample of 119 older adults completed additional questionnaires: De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, RAND-36 physical functioning, and perceived general health item of the EuroQol-5D. Exploratory factor analysis and Mokken scale analysis were used to evaluate the structural validity of the GFI. A Venn diagram was constructed to show the composition of GFI subscale scores for frail subjects.

Results

The factor structure of the GFI supported a three-dimensional structure of the scale. The subscales Daily Activities and Psychosocial Functioning showed good internal consistency, scalability, and criterion validity (Daily Activities: Cronbach's ? = 0.81, H(s) = .84, r = -.62; Psychosocial Functioning: Cronbach's ? = 0.80, H(s) = .35, r = -.48). The subscale Health Problems showed less strong internal consistency but acceptable scalability and criterion validity (Cronbach's ? = .57, H(s) = .35, r = -.48). The present data suggest that 90% of the frail older adults experience problems in the Psychosocial Functioning domain.

Conclusions

The present findings support a three-dimensional factor structure of the GFI, suggesting that a multidimensional assessment of frailty with the GFI is possible. These GFI subscale scores produce a richer assessment of frailty than with a single overall sum GFI score, and likely their use will contribute to more directed and customized care for older adults.

SUBMITTER: Bielderman A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3766248 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Multidimensional structure of the Groningen Frailty Indicator in community-dwelling older people.

Bielderman Annemiek A van der Schans Cees P CP van Lieshout Marie-Rose J MR de Greef Mathieu Hg MH Boersma Froukje F Krijnen Wim P WP Steverink Nardi N

BMC geriatrics 20130822

<h4>Background</h4>Due to the rapidly increasing number of older people worldwide, the prevalence of frailty among older adults is expected to escalate in coming decades. It is crucial to recognize early onset symptoms to initiate specific preventive care. Therefore, early detection of frailty with appropriate screening instruments is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the underlying dimensionality of the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI), a widely used self-report screening instrumen ...[more]

PMID: 23968433

Similar Datasets

Project description:INTRODUCTION:An increasing number of investigations highlight the complex nature of frailty; therefore, the use of multidimensional assessment instruments could be useful in clinical decision-making. Frail people are found mainly in the community setting which is why this is the ideal environment for early screening and intervention. For this purpose, it is necessary to have valid, time-effective and easy-to-use frailty assessment instruments. The aim of this review is to critically appraise, compare and summarise the quality of the measurement properties of all multidimensional instruments with an integral approach to identify frailty in community-dwelling people. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:Medline, Psychological Information Database (PsycINFO) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) will be searched from their inception dates. We will also conduct searches in databases of grey literature. No limits will be applied for language. A highly sensitive validated search filter will be used for finding studies on measurement properties. An additional search including the names of the instruments found in the initial search will also be undertaken. Studies aiming at the development of a measurement instrument, the evaluation of one or more measurement properties or the evaluation of its interpretability will be included. The instrument should have an integral approach (physical, psychological and social) and it should measure all three domains. The context of use should be a community setting. Two reviewers independently will screen the references and assess the risk of bias by consensus-based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments checklist. To assess the overall evidence for the measurement properties of the identified instruments, the results of the different studies, adjusted for their methodological quality, will be combined. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethical approval and patient consent are not required as this is a psychometric review based on published studies. The results of this review will be disseminated at conferences and published in an international peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER:CRD42019120212.

Project description:So far, it has not yet been studied whether socioeconomic status is associated with distinct frailty components and for which frailty component this association is the strongest. We aimed to examine the association between socioeconomic status and frailty and frailty components. In addition we assessed the mediating effect of the number of morbidities on the association between socioeconomic status and other frailty components.This is a cross-sectional study of pooled data of The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum DataSet in the Netherlands among community-dwelling persons aged 55 years and older (n = 26,014). Frailty was measured with a validated Frailty Index that consisted of 45 items. The Frailty Index contained six components: morbidities, limitations in activities of daily living (ADL), limitations in instrumental ADL (IADL), health-related quality of life, psychosocial health and self-rated health. Socioeconomic indicators used were education level and neighbourhood socioeconomic status.Persons with primary or secondary education had higher overall frailty and frailty component scores compared to persons with tertiary education (P < .001). Lower education levels were most consistently associated with higher overall frailty, more morbidities and worse self-rated health (P < .05 in all age groups). The strongest association was found between primary education and low psychosocial health for persons aged 55-69 years and more IADL limitations for persons aged 80+ years. Associations between neighborhood socioeconomic status and frailty (components) also showed inequalities, although less strong. The number of morbidities moderately to strongly mediated the association between socioeconomic indicators and other frailty components.There are socioeconomic inequalities in frailty and frailty components. Inequalities in frailty, number of morbidities and self-rated health are most consistent across age groups. The number of morbidities a person has play an important role in explaining socioeconomic inequalities in frailty and should be taken into account in the management of frailty.

Project description:BackgroundThere is great need for development of feasible rehabilitation for older people with dementia. Increased understanding of this population's experiences of rehabilitation participation is therefore important. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of community-dwelling older people with dementia participating in a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program.MethodsSixteen older people with dementia were interviewed about their experiences of participation in a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program. The program comprised assessments by a comprehensive team of rehabilitation professionals followed by a rehabilitation period of 16 weeks, including interventions based on individualized rehabilitation goals conducted with the support of the rehabilitation team. The rehabilitation was performed in the participants' homes, in the community and at an outpatient clinic, including exercise with social interaction in small groups offered twice a week to all participants. The interviews were conducted at the end of the rehabilitation period and analysed with qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe analysis resulted in one overarching theme: Empowered through participation and togetherness and four sub-themes: Being strengthened through challenges; Gaining insights, motives, and raising concerns about the future; Being seen makes participation worthwhile; and Feelings of togetherness in prosperity and adversity. The participants increased their self-esteem by daring and coping in the rehabilitation. The insights about themselves and their condition motivated them to continue with their prioritized activities, but also raised concerns about how the future would play out. Collaboration in the group and being seen and acknowledged by staff strengthened their own motivation and self-efficacy.ConclusionAccording to community-dwelling older people with dementia, a person-centred multidimensional interdisciplinary rehabilitation program was experienced as viable and beneficial. The participants seemed empowered through the rehabilitation and expressed mostly positive experiences and perceived improvements. Providers of interdisciplinary rehabilitation programs for this group should consider aspects raised by the participants e.g. the positive experience of being challenged in both exercise and daily activities; the importance of being seen and feeling secure; the benefits and challenges of collaboration with others in the same situation; and the generation of new perspectives of current and future situation.

Dataset Information

Multidimensional structure of the Groningen Frailty Indicator in community-dwelling older people.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Multidimensional structure of the Groningen Frailty Indicator in community-dwelling older people.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets