Biomedical subjects

Jill T Kooyoomjian

Publications and source records attributed to Jill T Kooyoomjian.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Assessing disability in older adults: the effects of asking questions with and without health attribution.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of using questions with and without health attribution on scores derived from a self-report disability instrument. METHODS: We administered the disability component of the Late Life Function and Disability Instrument to 75 community-dwelling older adults. Then, we administered the same 16 questions with attribution to specific health conditions. We used a series of analytic methods including weighted Kappa coefficient, Bowker's Test of Symmetry and Rasch analysis to assess the effects of attribution formats. RESULTS: A higher prevalence of disability was reported in the non-health attributed compared with the health attributed questions (t = 5.76; p < 0.001, 95% CI 3.8-7.8). Item analyses indicated that participants were significantly more likely to report disability on the non-health attributed version on 4 of the 16 questions. CONCLUSION: For community-dwelling older adults, the use of a non-health attribution format may be preferable in instruments designed to assess prevalence of disability from contributing factors other than just health.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Are the ICF Activity and Participation dimensions distinct?

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that distinct Activity and Participation dimensions of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health could be identified using physical functioning items drawn from the Late Life Function and Disability Instrument. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, survey design was employed. SUBJECTS: The sample comprised 150 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older. METHODS: Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify interpretable dimensions underlying 48 physical functioning questionnaire items. RESULTS: Findings revealed that one conceptual dimension underlying these physical functioning items was not sufficient to adequately explain the data (X2 = 2383; p < 0.0001). A subsequent solution produced 3 distinct, interpretable factors that accounted for 61.1% of the variance; they were labeled: Mobility Activities (24.4%), Daily Activities (24.3%), and Social/Participation (12.4%). All 3 factors achieved high internal consistency with coefficient alphas of 0.90 or above. CONCLUSION: Within physical functioning, distinct concepts were identified that conformed to the dimensions of Activity and Participation as proposed in the ICF. We believe this is the first empirical evidence of separate Activity and Participation dimensions within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health classification.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Late life function and disability instrument: I. Development and evaluation of the disability component.

BACKGROUND: Efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical and community-based interventions designed to impact late-life disability have been hindered significantly by limitations in current instrumentation. More conceptually sound and responsive measures of disability are needed. METHODS: Applying Nagi's disablement model, we wrote questionnaire items that assessed disability in terms of frequency and limitation in performance of 25 life tasks. We evaluated their validity and test-retest reliability with 150 ethnically and racially diverse adults aged 60 and older who had a range of functional limitations, using factor analysis and Rasch analytic techniques to examine and refine the instrument. RESULTS: Our analyses resulted in a 16-item disability component with two dimensions, one focused on frequency of performance and the other addressing limitation in performance of life tasks, with two disability domains within each dimension. The frequency dimension consisted of a personal and a social role domain, and the limitation dimension consisted of an instrumental and a management role domain. Expected differences in summary scores of known-functional limitation groups support the validity of this instrument. Test-retest intraclass correlations of the reproducibility of each overall dimension summary score were moderate to high (intraclass correlation coefficients .68-.82). CONCLUSIONS: The Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument has potential to assess meaningful concepts of disability across a wide variety of life tasks with relatively few items.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Late Life Function and Disability Instrument: II. Development and evaluation of the function component.

BACKGROUND: Self-reported capability in physical functioning has long been considered an important focus of research for older persons. Current measures have been criticized, however, for conceptual confusion, lack of sensitivity to change, poor reproducibility, and inability to capture a wide range of upper and lower extremity functioning. METHODS: Using Nagi's disablement model, we wrote physical functioning questionnaire items that assessed difficulty in 48 common daily tasks. We constructed the instrument using factor analysis and Rasch analytic techniques and evaluated its validity and test-retest reliability with 150 ethnically and racially diverse adults aged 60 years and older who had a range of functional limitations. RESULTS: Our analyses resulted in a 32-item function component with three dimensions--upper extremity, basic lower extremity, and advanced lower extremity functions. Expected differences in summary scores of known-functional limitation groups support its validity. Test-retest stability over a 1- to 3-week period was extremely high (intraclass correlation coefficients =.91 to.98). CONCLUSIONS: The Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument has potential to assess activity concepts related to upper and lower extremity functioning across a wide variety of daily physical tasks and individual levels of physical functioning.

Activities of Daily Living↗