Direct assessment of functional status in older patients with schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: There has been a growing trend in medicine to evaluate the impact of illness on functional abilities. Such studies typically rely on the patient's or caregiver's report. The goal of this study was to assess directly the functional capacity of psychiatric patients, especially old...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 154; no. 7; pp. 1022 - 1024
Main Authors:	KLAPOW, J. C, EVANS, J, PATTERSON, T. L, HEATON, R. K, KOCH, W. L, JESTE, D. V
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, DC American Psychiatric Publishing 01-07-1997 American Psychiatric Association
Subjects:	Activities of Daily Living Age Factors Aged Aged, 80 and over Ambulatory Care Assessment Biological and medical sciences Female Functional status Geriatric Assessment Humans Male Medical sciences Middle Aged Older people Patients Psychiatric Status Rating Scales Psychiatry Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems Psychopathology. Psychiatry Schizophrenia Schizophrenia - diagnosis Schizophrenic Psychology Sickness Impact Profile Techniques and methods Human Psychosis Evaluation scale Schizophrenia Adult Psychometrics Elderly Functional capacity
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Summary:	OBJECTIVE: There has been a growing trend in medicine to evaluate the impact of illness on functional abilities. Such studies typically rely on the patient's or caregiver's report. The goal of this study was to assess directly the functional capacity of psychiatric patients, especially older ones. METHOD: The subjects were 55 outpatients with schizophrenia and 72 normal persons ranging in age from 45 to 86 years. The subjects were administered the Direct Assessment of Functional Status Scale, which assess behaviour during simulated daily activity tasks in the areas of time orientation, communication, transportation, finance, shopping, grooming, and eating. RESULTS: The patients with schizophrenia had significantly greater disability than the normal subjects according to total scale scores as well as the communication, transportation, finance, and shopping subscale scores. Global cognitive status was the best predictor of total scale score. CONCLUSIONS: The Direct Assessment of Functional Status Scale is a promising instrument for functional assessment in outpatients with schizophrenia.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0002-953X 1535-7228
DOI:	10.1176/ajp.154.7.1022