This study’s main objective was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the interRAI Community Health Assessment (CHA) for detecting the presence of vision loss (VL), hearing loss (HL) or both (Dual Sensory Loss, DSL) when compared against performance-based measures of vision and hearing. The interRAI CHA and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were administered to 200 adults (61+ years of age) who had VL, HL or DSL. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the interRAI CHA for detecting sensory impairments using as the gold standard performance based measurements of hearing (pure-tone audiogram) and vision (distance acuity) as determined from the rehabilitation centre record. Results were divided according to participants’ cognitive status, as measured by the MoCA and the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS, embedded within the interRAI CHA). Overall, sensitivity was 100% for VL, 97.1% for HL, and 96.9% for DSL. Specificity was at least 93% in all three groups. In participants who failed the MoCA (i.e., at risk of mild cognitive impairment), the sensitivity was 100% for VL, 96.8% for HL and 96.2% for DSL; in those who were not at risk, the sensitivity was 100% for VL, and 97.4% for HL and DSL. In participants classified by the CPS as borderline intact or mild cognitively impaired, sensitivity was 100% in all groups; in those classified as cognitively intact, sensitivity was 100% for VL, 97.0% for HL, and 96.8% for DSL. These results suggest that the interRAI CHA detects VL, HL, and DSL in high agreement with performance-based measurements of vision and hearing. The interRAI CHA shows high accuracy even in participants with mild cognitive difficulties. Since results were found in a specific population of older rehabilitation clients who all had sensory difficulties, further research is needed to understand its role in screening in other more diverse groups.

The population of older adults that have Dual Sensory Loss (DSL) is increasing, yet most research to date has focused on single sensory impairment and is inconclusive as to whether DSL is associated with worse impact on health and well-being over single sensory loss. The primary aim of this study was to characterize the health and functioning of community-dwelling older adults with DSL who were receiving sensory rehabilitation, using an understudied assessment: the interRAI Community Health Assessment (CHA). The secondary aim was to investigate whether older adults with DSL had worse health-related outcomes than their peers with only vision loss (VL) or only hearing loss (HL). We report and compare the interRAI CHA results in a sample of 200 older adults (61+ years of age) who had DSL, VL or HL. Overall, all sensory impairment groups showed high functioning in the areas of cognition, communication, activities of daily living, depression, and psycho-social well-being. DSL was not always associated with worse outcomes compared to a single sensory loss. Rather, the results varied depending on the tasks assessed, as well as which groups were compared. Our findings highlight that despite the negative impact of sensory losses, community-dwelling older adults receiving sensory rehabilitation services tend to have overall good health and a high level of independence. These results also show that DSL is not always associated with worse outcomes compared to a single sensory loss. Further research is needed to better characterize older adults with DSL who have more severe sensory and cognitive difficulties than those in our sample, and among those who are not receiving rehabilitation services. Background Researchers have traditionally investigated vision loss (VL) and hearing loss (HL) separately, but evidence suggests that these sensory impairments may be associated. In older adults (65+),

Purpose: Service providers must identify and assess older adults who have concurrent vision and hearing loss, or dual sensory impairment (DSI). An assessment tool suitable for this purpose is the interRAI Community Health Assessment (CHA) and its Deafblind Supplement. This study's goal was to explore this assessment's administration process and to generate suggestions for assessors to help them optimize data collection.Methods: A social worker with experience working with adults who have sensory loss, who was also naïve to the interRAI CHA, administered the assessment with 200 older adults (65+) who had visual and/or hearing loss. The assessor evaluated the utility of the instrument for clinical purposes, focusing on sections relevant to identifying/characterizing adults with DSI.Results: Suggestions include the recommendation to ask additional questions regarding the person's functional abilities. This will help assessors deepen their understanding of the person's sensory status. Recommendations are also provided regarding sensory impairments and rehabilitation, in a general sense, to help assessors administer the interRAI CHA.Conclusions: Suggestions will help assessors to deepen their knowledge about sensory loss and comprehensively understand the assessment's questions, thereby allowing them to optimize the assessment process and increase their awareness of sensory loss in older adults.