Screening for hearing, visual and dual sensory impairment in older adults using behavioural cues: A validation study
Section snippets
Background
Sensory impairment is widespread among older adults; however the consequences for daily life are often overlooked. The percentage of hearing and visual impairment in the group aged 80 and older was found to be 78% and 31% respectively; 25% of them suffered a dual sensory impairment (DSI), i.e. the combination of a hearing and a visual impairment. The highest percentages were found among older adults living in residential care settings (Vaal et al., 2007). Although age-related sensory impairment
Translation of the SDSL screening tool
The original Norwegian authors produced both a Norwegian and an English version of their SDSL screening tool. With their permission, the English version was translated into Dutch by the researchers (authors LR and SZ) and back-translated into English by an independent native English speaker who was blinded to the original questionnaire (Sperber, 2004). Both English-language versions were subsequently compared and problem items were revised by a committee consisting of the researchers (authors
Participants
A total of 83 older adults who met the age criterion were invited to participate in the study. Written consent was obtained from 60 individuals, no consent was obtained by legal guardians. Four older adults had missing data because they were hospitalized (n = 2) or had moved to a nursing home elsewhere (n = 2). Among the remaining 56 older adults, 22 lived in a residential setting, 34 lived at home, of whom 20 visited a social day centre and 14 visited a day centre with rehabilitation services. Age
Discussion
We found that the SDSL screening tool is a valid, reliable, and easy-to-administer tool to identify sensory impairment among older adults. Moderate to good sensitivity and specificity were found for the hearing and visual subscales. The internal consistency of the items was strong and the interrater reliability of the tool was substantial. Factor analysis identified two domains in the hearing subscale (social environment and individual environment) and two domains in the vision subscale (daily
Conclusions
In healthcare, the impact of hearing and visual impairment is underestimated and the mutual negative influence on cognitive functioning and depressive behaviour neglected. Older adults need social and environmental support in addition to medical treatment and technical device use. Nurses and care assistants have a key role in recognizing behaviours and in maximizing communication and functional opportunities. The SDSL screening tool is developed for use by nurses and care assistants to identify
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