JAGS Report: Preliminary Validation of a Patient‐Reported Measure of the Age‐Friendliness of Health Care
The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) has published a brief report, "Preliminary Validation of a Patient‐Reported Measure of the Age‐Friendliness of Health Care."
The study objective was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a patient‐reported measure of the “age‐friendliness” of health care. Based on the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative's 4Ms, the four essential domains of high‐quality health care for older outpatients (Medications, Mobility, Mentation and what Matters), the authors - Melanie C. Wright, PhD, Terry Fulmer PhD, RN, FAAN and Chad Boult, MD, MPH, MBA -drafted a short questionnaire for older outpatients to rate the age‐friendliness of their health care, and solicited feedback from healthcare professionals, quality improvement experts, and a patient‐caregiver focus group. The resulting Age‐Friendliness Questionnaire (AFQ) was tested via two surveys.
The study concluded that the "pragmatic new five-item AFQ appears to be a valid and reliable tool for estimating the patient-reported age-friendliness of the care received by older outpatients. This tool will allow healthcare systems, for the first time, to incorporate the invaluable patient’s perspective in the vital process of improving the 4M’s for older outpatients."
To go to the abstract, click here.
To learn more about the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, click here.