SCREENING FOR FRAILTY IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY SUBJECTS: VALIDATION OF THE SEGAM INSTRUMENT

• Published in: Innovation in aging 2017-07, Vol.1 (suppl_1), p.1126-1127
• Main Authors: Oubaya, N., Drame, M., Novella, J., Quignard, E., Cunin, C., Jolly, D., Mahmoudi, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.4119

Introduction: We aimed to validate the modified version of the Short Emergency Geriatric Assessment (SEGAm) frailty instrument among elderly community-dwelling subjects. Method: A longitudinal, prospective study was conducted in four French departments (Ardennes, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse) and subjects aged 65 years or more and living at home were included. We assessed demographic characteristics, comprehensive geriatric assessment, and the SEGAm instrument. During follow-up visits at home at 6 and 12 months, vital status, level of autonomy and occurrence of hospitalisation were recorded. For psychometric validation, feasibility and acceptability, internal structure validity, reliability, discriminant validity and predictive validity of the SEGAm instrument were studied. Results: Overall, 167 patients were included. Average age was 77 ± 7 years, the majority were women (70.7%). Feasibility and acceptability of the SEGAm instrument were excellent: no refusal to participate, no drop-out during administration, no missing items, no ceiling or floor effects were noted. Administration time was short (5.0 ± 3.5 min). By factor analysis, the instrument proved to be unidimensional. It showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient: 0.68) and good test-retest (intra-class correlation: 0.88) at 7 days interval. Discriminant validity showed a significant difference, mainly for nutritional status, fall risk, dependency, mood and depression risk, and comorbidities. And frailty status at baseline was significantly associated with loss of autonomy during the 12 months of follow-up (OR=4.52, 95% CI=1.40–14.68; p=0.01). Conclusion: The SEGAm appears to be an easy-to-use instrument that is particularly suitable for use in the community to identify frail elderly people who could benefit from early targeted interventions.