A new multidimensional assessment instrument in German for prevention in older persons: Comparison of the self-administered with the interviewer-administered version

In an earlier study we have shown good internal consistency and test-retest -reliability of a newly developed German-language instrument in the intervi ewer-administered version The aim of this study was to test the reliability of a self-administered version compared to the original interviewer-admini stered version of our newly developed German-language instrument. We recrui ted a group of 50 over 75-year-old community-dwelling persons in Hamburg, G ermany (N = 25) and Berne, Switzerland (N = 25). The questionnaire contains items on: self-perceived health, chronic conditions, basic and instrumenta l activities of daily living, urinary incontinence, nutrition, recent falls , pain, the social support/network and preventive-care measures, in additio n, the Functional Status Questionnaire, the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index, the Visual Function Qu estionnaire, the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly and the Geriatr ic Depression Scale were administered Cohen's Kappa (self-administered vers ion compared to the interviewer-administered version) was good to excellent (0.69-1.0) with only three exceptions (physical activity kappa = 0.49, bas ic activities kappa = 0.54 and oral health kappa = 0.54). For the domains a ctivities of daily living, oral health, visual function and depression the self-administered version detected significantly more problems than he inte rview. In the future the self-administered version of this assessment instr ument can be used for various purposes, e.g. (annual) preventive geriatric assessment for outpatients and other community-dwelling persons and epidemi ological studies in older persons.