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Evaluating Distinctions in the Assessment of Late-Life Disability.

ABSTRACT: Background:By including categories for accommodations and reduced frequency, to supplement earlier classifications of difficulty and dependence, a new 5-category functional scale has the potential to distinguish finer gradations in disability but the hierarchical nature and advantages of this scale over alternative scales are uncertain. Methods:Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (N = 7,609), we conducted a series of: cross-sectional analyses that focused on the hierarchical consistency of responses in the 5-category scale; and longitudinal analyses that focused on predictive accuracy for mortality and functional dependence, comparing the 5-category scale with three simpler scales, having only three or four categories. Results:Although there was considerable variability across the seven functional activities, the prevalence of inconsistencies in the hierarchy of the 5-category scale (eg, reports difficulty but no accommodations) was relatively high. In addition, the predictive accuracy of the 5-category scale for mortality and functional dependence was only modestly better than that of the two 3-category scales and was comparable to that of the 4-category scale. Finally, when evaluated as summative disability scores, there was little difference in predictive accuracy between the 5-category scale and three alternative scales. Conclusions:Despite inconsistencies in its hierarchy, the 5-category scale is more effective in stratifying risk for mortality and functional dependence than the two 3-category scales but not the 4-category scale. When assessing changes over time, however, the addition of questions on accommodations and reduced frequency to those on difficulty and dependence, to form a summative disability score, offers little benefit and increases the burden of the assessment.

SUBMITTER: Gill TM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5861975 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evaluating Distinctions in the Assessment of Late-Life Disability.

Gill Thomas M TM Williams Christianna S CS

The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences 20171001 11

<h4>Background</h4>By including categories for accommodations and reduced frequency, to supplement earlier classifications of difficulty and dependence, a new 5-category functional scale has the potential to distinguish finer gradations in disability but the hierarchical nature and advantages of this scale over alternative scales are uncertain.<h4>Methods</h4>Using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (N = 7,609), we conducted a series of: cross-sectional analyses that focused on ...[more]

PMID: 28329106

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Project description:BackgroundLife cycle assessment (LCA) is a systems-based method used to determine potential impacts to the environment associated with a product throughout its life cycle. Conclusions from LCA studies can be applied to support decisions regarding product design or public policy, therefore, all relevant inputs (e.g., raw materials, energy) and outputs (e.g., emissions, waste) to the product system should be evaluated to estimate impacts. Currently, work-related impacts are not routinely considered in LCA. The objectives of this paper are: 1) introduce the work environment disability-adjusted life year (WE-DALY), one portion of a characterization factor used to express the magnitude of impacts to human health attributable to work-related exposures to workplace hazards; 2) outline the methods for calculating the WE-DALY; 3) demonstrate the calculation; and 4) highlight strengths and weaknesses of the methodological approach.MethodsThe concept of the WE-DALY and the methodological approach to its calculation is grounded in the World Health Organization's disability-adjusted life year (DALY). Like the DALY, the WE-DALY equation considers the years of life lost due to premature mortality and the years of life lived with disability outcomes to estimate the total number of years of healthy life lost in a population. The equation requires input in the form of the number of fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses that occur in the industries relevant to the product system evaluated in the LCA study, the age of the worker at the time of the fatal or nonfatal injury or illness, the severity of the injury or illness, and the duration of time lived with the outcomes of the injury or illness.ResultsThe methodological approach for the WE-DALY requires data from various sources, multi-step instructions to determine each variable used in the WE-DALY equation, and assumptions based on professional opinion.ConclusionsResults support the use of the WE-DALY in a characterization factor in LCA. Integrating occupational health into LCA studies will provide opportunities to prevent shifting of impacts between the work environment and the environment external to the workplace and co-optimize human health, to include worker health, and environmental health.

Dataset Information

Evaluating Distinctions in the Assessment of Late-Life Disability.

Publications

Evaluating Distinctions in the Assessment of Late-Life Disability.

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