Development of a set of indexes for the assessment of healthy older Chinese adults / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To develop a set of indexes for the assessment of healthy older adults in China, in order to provide a reference and basis for developing aging-related national policies, standardizing and guiding health management services for the elderly.Methods:A set of indexes for the assessment of healthy older adults in China was established based on a literature review, expert discussions, 2 rounds of Delphi surveys, expert consultations and a cross-sectional study assessing the indexes.Results:The positive coefficients for 2 rounds of expert consultations were 86.25%(69/80)and 94.52%(69/73), respectively.All surveyed experts(100%)specialized in the area of geriatric health and came from 22 provincial-level administrative regions in China.In the two rounds of consultations, the familiarity degree coefficients were 0.706-0.915 and 0.835-0.922, and the authority coefficients were 0.762-0.921 and 0.863-0.932, respectively.The mean importance scores of each index were 6.10-9.74 scores and 7.87-9.56 scores, with perfect score rates of 43%-99% and 75%-99%, respectively.The mean coefficients of variation(CV)were 0.19±0.05(0.07-0.34)and 0.16±0.03(0.10-0.21), respectively.The set of indexes for the assessment of healthy older Chinese adults covered multi-dimensions including physical health, mental health and social health, with 3 primary indexes, 11 secondary indexes and 17 tertiary indexes.Conclusions:The construction process of the set of indexes for the assessment of healthy Chinese adults was scientific and rigorous, and the panelists had a high level of agreement, strong authority and active participation.The set of indexes has comprehensive coverage and an inclusive framework, and indexes at each level are scientific and feasible.It can serve as a reference for the comprehensive assessment of health status of the elderly and for aging-related government policy formulation in the future.