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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Measurement of assistive device use implications for estimates of device use and disability in late life | Author(s) | Jennifer C Cornman, Vicki A Freedman, Emily M Agree |
Journal title | The Gerontologist, vol 45, no 3, June 2005 |
Pages | pp 347-358 |
Source | http://www.geron.org |
Keywords | Assistive technology ; Usage [services] ; Measurement ; Physical disabilities ; Cross sectional surveys ; United States of America. |
Annotation | Cross-sectional data from six US surveys were used to compare rates of assistive device use and disability among community-dwelling adults aged 65+. Estimates for the use of any device are similar across surveys, ranging from 14% to 18% for people aged 65+. However, one survey design element - the restriction of device-use questions to those reporting difficulty with daily activities - omits a potentially sizeable group: those who use devices but report no difficulty. Including this group of device users significantly increases the prevalence estimates of both device use and disability. The use of assistance and perceptions of difficulty are inextricably interwoven, and attention to the measurement of these concepts is needed. Survey designers may want to consider asking questions about assistive device use independent of questions about difficulty. In addition, researchers who study disability may want to consider including those who report using devices but no difficulty, a group that may become more prevalent as new cohorts age. (RH). |
Accession Number | CPA-070904203 A |
Classmark | M: QLD: 3R: BN: 3KB: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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