Arber et al developed a simple disability index for surveying disability in the elderly based on observation of daily life. The index can also be used in other patient populations including psychiatric patients.
The ability deal with the person's ability to
(1) get up and down stairs?
(2) get around the house?
(3) get in and out of bed?
(4) cut your toenails yourself?
(5) bath, shower or wash all over?
(6) go out and walk down the road?
Response
Points
on own without difficulty
0
on own with difficulty
1
only with help from someone else
2
not at all
2
disability index =
= SUM(points for all 6 questions)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 12
Score
Disability
0
none
1 or 2
slight
3 – 5
moderate
6 – 8
severe
9 – 12
very severe
According to Arber the index has a coefficient of reproducibility of 0.94 and a coefficient of scalability of 0.63.
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