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BioPsychoSocial Assessment Tools for the Elderly - Assessment Summary Sheet Test: Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) Year: 2000 Domain: Biological Assessment Tool Category: General Health Variations/Translations: English Setting: Clinical or Community setting Method of Delivery: Patient self-report, in person or telephone is acceptable. Description: The Vulnerable Elders Survey is a tool used to assess the risk of health deterioration in community–dwelling older adults by considering a number of factors including disabilities, age, self-reported health status and functional limitations. This assessment is a 4 question, 13-item simple function-based questionnaire which is helpful for identifying vulnerable elders in the community. This assessment can be completed and scored by either clinicians or non-clinicians. Scoring/Interpretation: Each question on the test has a point scoring system beside it and these numbers are totaled to give an overall score. A score on the VES-13 greater than or equal to three classifies the participant as vulnerable. Time to Administer: Approximately
5 minutes Software: N/A Website: http://www.siog.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103&Itemid=78 http://www.rand.org/health/projects/acove/survey.html http://www.rand.org/health/projects/acove/docs/acove_ves13.pdf Quantitative/Qualitative: Quantitative Validity (Quantitative): The VES-13 correlates with the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) with a value of r=0.4 and with the Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living with a value of r=0.5, showing it as a valid tool. Reliability (Quantitative): Internal consistency for the VES-13 in a study by Luciani et al. (2001) found a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.9 when compared against the CGA. Sensitivity was reported to be 87% and a specificity of 62% versus CGA, and 90% and 70% versus ADL/IADL scales. This shows that the VES-13 is highly sensitive and predictive of functional vulnerability. References: Luciani, A., Ascione, G., Bertuzzi, C., Marussi, D., Codecà, C., Di Maria, G., Caldiera, S., Floriani, I., Zonato, S., Ferrari, D., & Foa, P. (2010). Detecting Disabilities in Older Patients with Cancer: Comparison between Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Vulnerable Elders Survey-13. Journal of Clinical Oncology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2009.25.9796 RAND. (2009). Assessing Care of
Vulnerable Elders: Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13). Retrieved on
March 22, 2010 from
http://www.rand.org/health/projects/acove/survey.html#development Comments: This tool is used specifically to identify vulnerable community-dwelling older adults. |