Development and Psychometric Validation of a New Scale for Assessment and Screening of Frailty Among Older Indians

Abstract

Background Frailty is a major challenge for healthcare systems in ageing societies. This dynamic state of health is a reflection of reduced reserve in various organ systems and enhanced vulnerability to stressors. Research in this area of geriatrics and gerontology is limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India. This study is directed at development of a culturally appropriate and validated assessment scale for frailty among older Indians. Methods After extensive review of the literature on existing scales, a preliminary draft scale was formed. This draft was pre- and pilot-tested to check feasibility and modified accordingly. The final scale was validated on 107 older adults by confirmatory factor analysis and was named the Frailty Assessment and Screening Tool (FAST). The Fried’s frailty phenotype was also administered on the same 107 older adults and scores of both were co-related. Suitable cut-off scores were found for frail and pre-frail older adults. Results The final version of the FAST consisted of 14 questions pertaining to 10 domains. It has good reliability. Cronbach’s alpha co-efficient was 0.99; test–retest reliability was 0.97 and validity by confirmatory factor analysis was adequate. The Kaiser–CMeyer–Olkin (KMO) of sampling adequacy was 0.699, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant ( χ 2 = 353.471, p < 0.001). FAST scores had a cut-off of ≥ 7/14 for frail and ≥ 5/14 for pre-frail elderly. Conclusion The FAST is a validated tool with good psychometric properties. It is expected that it will be helpful in screening pre-frail and frail older adults in India and other LMICs and guide in clinical decision making for intervention.

Development and Validation of the Chinese Frailty Screening Scale: A Study among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Shanghai

“…Although some frailty screening instruments have been used in China, most of these scales were translated from other languages, which may make them culturally inaccurate. More recently, researchers from non-native English-speaking countries have developed their own localized frailty screening tools [ 26 , 45 , 46 ]. This study developed and validated a frailty screening scale in a Chinese context to screen older adults on the basis of the frailty definition and the ICOPE framework.…”

The mothers’ breastfeeding behaviour within six weeks postpartum: new scale development and psychometric validation study

“…After generating a list of postpartum women from medical records, the purposive sampling strategy was employed to ensure that the sample was diverse in terms of parity, delivery mode, education level, and infant whereabouts. Thirty mothers within 6 weeks postpartum who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed to participate in the pilot study from July 1, 2020, to July 15, 2020 [ 35 ]. The second sample (Sample two) was collected to encompass the item analysis to form the final scale version and finish psychometric validation by three key steps: (1) sampling, the potential participants who delivered women in the obstetrics department were randomly recruited in one interaction with each mother separately between July 22, 2020, and October 7, 2020.…”

The mothers' breastfeeding behavior within six weeks postpartum: new scale development and psychometric validation study

“…After generating a list of postpartum women from medical records, the purposive sampling strategy was employed to ensure the sample was diverse in terms of parity, delivery mode, education level, and infant whereabouts. Thirty mothers within six weeks postpartum who met included criteria were interviewed to participate in thepilot studyfrom July 1, 2020, to July 15, 2020 [35]. The second sample (Sample two) was collected to encompass the item analysis to form the nal scale version and nish psychometric validationby three key steps: (1) sampling, the potential participants delivered women inthe obstetrics department was randomly recruited in one interaction with each mother separately between July 22, 2020, and October 7, 2020.…”