Validation study of a social functioning scale: The social-SMAF (social-Functional Autonomy Measurement System).

This article aims to describe the validation studies of a social functioning scale developed recently to be possibly added to the SMAF. One hundred and one older adults presenting moderate to severe disabilities and living in two long-term care institutions (LTCI) participated in the validation studies. For the interrater reliability, 51 participants were assessed by two different nurses 24-72 h apart whereas for the test-retest reliability (n=50), they were evaluated twice by the same nurse within a 7-day interval.

Functional autonomy measurement system: development of a social subscale.

The purpose of this study was to develop a subscale assessing social functioning for the functional autonomy measurement system (SMAF). The development of this new dimension was based on consultations (focus groups and nominal groups) of experts from different health care disciplines in Quebec, Canada, and France. Two interrater reliability studies were carried out with older people presenting a loss of functional autonomy and living either in an institution or at home.