Jamerson et al developed a screening scale for identifying an older adult who may need assistance with medications. The authors are from Duke University and the VA Medical Center in Durham.
Patient selection: community-dwelling adult >= 65 years
Parameters:
(1) age in years
(2) gender
(3) 10-item short portable mental status questionnaire (SPMSQ) of Pfeiffer (from 0 to 10)
(4) modified 6-item Older Americans Resources and Services instrumental activities of daily living scale (OARS IADL, from 0 to 6)
(5) Katz 5-item basic activities of daily living scale, from 0 to 5
Parameters
Findings
Points
age in years
< 75 years
0
>= 75 years
1
gender
female
0
male
1
SPMSQ
0 to 3 errors
0
4 to 10 errors
1
OARS IADL
0 (can do all without help)
0
1 to 6
1
Katz 5-item
0 (can do all without help)
0
1 to 5
1
total score =
= SUM(points for all 5 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 5
• The higher the score the greater the need for assistance.
• A score >= 3 was used to identify a patient requiring assistance.
Performance:
• A score >= 3 had a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 88%.
• The area under the ROC curve was 0.77.
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