Assessment by Relatives of Elderly Patients with Psychiatric Illness

Abstract

Participation of relatives to provide clinical information on psychiatric patients is frequently under-utilized resulting in valuable data being bypassed. In an attempt to formalise the gathering of data from relatives we used the Geriatric Evaluation by Relatives Rating Instrument (GERRI), a 49-statement questionnaire in which the relative rates the patient's behaviour in terms of frequency of occurrence, The information obtained from relatives was then compared with that obtained from other forms of patient-assessment—the London Psychogeriatric Rating Scale completed by nursing staff, the Minimental State Screening Test and the Visual Analogue Scale for Depression completed by the patient, and the Activities of Daily Living Instrument completed by the occupational therapist. These instruments were chosen as being valid and reliable procedures with which to compare the GERRI. Subjects were 100 patients aged 65 yr. and over who were admitted consecutively to a psychogeriatric unit in a large psychiatric hospital. Significant correlations between relatives' assessment of cognitive and social function and those completed by the patients and other staff were noted. The relatives' assessment of the patients' mood, however, did not correlate with the patients' self-assessment of mood, suggesting that depression in the elderly may be “masked.”