Finding the right outcome measures for care home research

摘要

SIR—Hoppitt, Sackley and Wright (Age and Ageing January 2010) report the results of their trial of therapy for UK care home residents, concluding that there is a lack of appropriate outcomes available for the care home population, and a need for validation of existing measures and development of alternatives in this population.nnThese conclusions were based on the response rates at three time intervals for measurements of hand grip strength, the Timed Up and Go test, the Falls Efficacy Scale and calcaneal ultrasound densitometry. These measures all had lower response rates than those for the Barthel Index and Rivermead Mobility Index, both of which were completed by proxy where required. Response rates for handgrip varied from 60% (intervention group) and 66% (control group) initially, reducing to 46% and 51% for each group at the third time interval. The authors state that cognitive impairments made it impossible to follow the instructions, while physical impairments meant that some participants were unable to attempt the hand grip.