Instrument development and validation of the comprehensive ability of older people assessment scale.
Weitong Li, Qiuqin Wang, Yujing Chen and 2 others
PMID 34357695WHAT IT FOUND
The new scale for older people in long-term care was judged usable for assessment, but it has not been shown to improve care or outcomes.
Key findings
01The CAOPAs scale was built from 6 dimensions and 42 items, then 2 items were removed.
02The internal consistency coefficient for the entire scale was 0.951.
03When 63 older people were compared with AAQ, CAOPAs scores were more related to cognitive score, activities of daily living, pain score and pressure ulcer score.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling from four long-term care institutions in China, so the results may not apply to other places or settings. The researchers tested how the scale behaves, not whether using it improves patient outcomes or nursing care. The authors state that the structural validity still needs revision and that the scale needs further testing. Only 63 older people were used for the comparison with AAQ, so that part is limited. Some answers may have been influenced by older people's memory or by caregivers and nursing staff answering for them.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the scale's development results as evidence that using it improves patient outcomes. The study tested an assessment tool, not a care programme.