Proposal for an instrument for the admission of the elderly to long-term care facilities: elaboration and validation

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To elaborate and validate an instrument for the admission of the elderly to long-term care facilities. Method: A methodological study was performed, divided into two phases, the first of which was the elaboration of the instrument based on a literature review of research published in journals indexed in SciELO and in databases such as Medline, LILACS, IBECS, Embase and books related to gerontology, defining theoretical dimensionality through relevant information to support individualized and integral care for the elderly. The second phase of the study involved validation by nine experts from a multidisciplinary field. Six criteria were used to validate the construct, for which the experts chose one of the following options: adequate, inadequate or requires greater adequacy and also, when necessary, added suggestions. The decision to maintain, reformulate or exclude items was based on the Percentage of Consensus (PC) among the experts, for which consensus of more than 80% was adopted as the value of statistical significance. Results: The scientific evidence base for the construction of the instrument consisted of anamnesis and physical examination domains, segmented in ten and four sections, respectively. Half of the sections achieved a score above that proposed, four of which received a maximum consensus score in all criteria. Conclusion: The instrument was developed and proved to be consistent for applicability by different professionals in the area, with the aim of promoting geriatric care focused on the health of the institutionalized patient.