SURROGATE ASSESSMENT OF CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE PATIENTS FUNCTIONAL-CAPACITY

An investigation of the surrogate assessment of coronary artery diseas e (CAD) patients' functional capacity was conducted using 193 patient and surrogate rater dyads. Mean age of patients and surrogate raters w ere 60.4 and 54.4 years, respectively. Patients and surrogates indepen dently completed a brief questionnaire that assessed health and psycho social factors. The Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) was contained in the patients' questionnaire, while a similar form modified to assess patients' functional capacity was imbedded in the surrogates' question naire. Results indicated similar psychometric characteristics and clin ical validity for patients' self-report and surrogates' ratings, sugge sting that the Surrogate Rating Form of the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI-SRF) is a reliable and valid proxy method of assessing patient' s functional capacity when this information may not be obtained direct ly from the patient. Further, while there were no effects of surrogate s' health and psychological characteristics on their ratings of patien ts' functional capacity, in comparison with other surrogates, spouses were more likely to rate patients higher in functional capacity. Explo ration of the patient/care provider relationship via concurrent use of the DASI and DASI-SRF is discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.