Construct validation and test-retest reliability of the seniors in the community: Risk evaluation for eating and nutrition questionnaire

Background. We performed two studies. Study 1 was a construct validation of Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition (SCREEN ), a 15-item questionnaire for assessing nutritional risk. In Study 2, we e xamined the test-retest reliability of SCREEN. Methods. Study 1 was a cross-sectional study, and Study 2 was a cohort stud y. For Study 1, ten diverse community sites were used to recruit participan ts. A total of 128 older adults attended a clinic to provide medical and nu tritional history and anthropometric measurements. A dietitian interviewed each participant. Dietitians used clinical judgment to rate the probability of nutritional risk from 1 (low risk) to 10 (high risk). Spearman's rho co rrelation and receiver operating characteristic curves were completed. An a bbreviated SCREEN was developed through multiple linear regression analysis . In Study 2. SCREEN was randomly distributed to members of a seniors' recr eation center where a self-selected sample (n = 124) completed two mailed S CREENs, 4 weeks apart. The test-retest reliability was estimated through pa ired correlations of total scores and individual items. Results. In Study 1, total and abbreviated SCREEN scores were significantly associated with the dietitian nutritional risk rating (rho = -.47 and rho = -.60, respectively). Study 2 revealed that the test-retest reliability of SCREEN was adequate. Conclusions. SCREEN appears to be a valid and reliable tool for identifying community-dwelling older adults at risk fur impaired nutritional states.