Comparison between subjective and objective evaluations of self-care performance in elderly inpatients

OBJETIVE: To identify the functional status in self-care performance of elderly inpatients, through subjective and objective evaluations. METHODS: Fifty-five pairs of elderly and their respective caregivers of both sexes were submitted to subjective (self-rating and rating by caregivers) and objective assessment. The Performance Test of Activities of Daily Living and items in the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale were used. Functional status was rated 1 (unable to perform task), 2 (able to perform task with assistance) or 3 (able to perform task unassisted). The agreement rate among different self-rating and rating by caregivers, and objective assessment was calculated by dividing the number of identical responses by the total. RESULTS: Most elderly patients and caregivers were women (58.2% and 83.6%, respectively). The mean age was 80 years for elderly patients and 58.7 years for caregivers. Low schooling levels (1 to 4 years) prevailed among elderly patients (65.4%), while caregivers often had complete high education (32.7%). Functional status (FN=1, 2 and 3) varied between tasks, and the agreement rate between assessment methods ranged from 58 to 98.1%, particularly in comparisons involving objective assessment. CONCLUSION: Self-reported data and data contributed by caregivers must be compared with performance data collected via objective assessment for a reliable appreciation of the true functional status of older adults.