FIMA, the questionnaire for health-related resource use in the elderly population: validity, reliability, and usage of the Polish version in clinical practice

• Published in: Clinical interventions in aging 2018-01, Vol.13, p.787-795
• Main Authors: Mazurek, Justyna, Sutkowska, Edyta, Szcześniak, Dorota, Urbańska, Katarzyna Małgorzata, Rymaszewska, Joanna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Assessment; Baby boomers; Care Coordination; Clinical trials; Continuity of care; Cost analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Decision Making; Feasibility studies; Female; General practitioners; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Geriatrics; German language; Health Resources - statistics & numerical data; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Medical care quality; Middle Aged; Older people; Original Research; Patient satisfaction; Physicians; Poland; Population; Psychiatry; Psychometrics - methods; Quality Assurance, Health Care; Quality of Care; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Rehabilitation; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Systematic review; Task forces; Translations
• ISSN: 1178-1998; 1176-9092; 1178-1998
• DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S158951

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the Questionnaire for Health-Related Resource Use in an Elderly Population [Fragebogen zur Inanspruchnahme medizinischer und nicht-medizinischer Versorgungsleistungen im Alter (FIMA)]. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a rehabilitation care unit in Poland between January and June of 2017. Sixty-one patients aged ≥65 years who had been admitted to the unit were enrolled into the study. Each participant was evaluated twice: once within 48 hours of admission (T1) and once after 2 weeks (T2). The translated instrument was understood by most respondents in a selected population and it maintained a reading and comprehension level that was accessible by most respondents, even of a low education level. With the aid of the prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), 100% test-retest reliability for 10 out of the 12 questions that were subjected to analysis was indicated. The most frequent health-related resource uses were appointments at the general practitioner (90.2%) and orthopedist (54.1%), medication (93.4%), and the necessity to have glasses as supportive equipment (70.5%). The Polish FIMA demonstrated very good test-retest reliability, good validity, and ease of use for elderly people. Further investigation is required. In the future, the routine use of this instrument could be encouraged to assess the use and demand for medical and nonmedical services among the elderly.