Quality of life among the elderly with locomotor disabilities in Sweden and Poland in the 1990s.

Purpose: To estimate the proportion of locomotor disabilities in two elderly populations in Sweden and Poland, respectively. To estimate the perceived quality of life (QoL) in the disabled groups in samples from each country using a model developed by Carol Estwing Ferrans.

Methods: The study comprised three parts: an epidemiological screening test for identification of individuals with a locomotor disability, an analysis of background data of importance and home visits with evaluations of quality of life and functional capacity.

The Swedish version of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument, by age and gender in an old-age Swedish population, especially related to locomotor disability.

The aim of this study was to explore the pattern of the Swedish version of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument (PGCMAI), in respect of age and gender, in a sample of old people with locomotor disability from a population aged 60 years and older in Sweden and compare it with other studies in the same area for the purpose of further validation. The participants (n = 199) were selected from a population (n = 3469), age >or=60 years, in two counties in Sweden and were visited in their own homes. The measure was carried out with two instruments, the Swedish version of PGCMAI, used as an interview, and the Standardized Practical Equipment test consisting of practical tasks.

Psychometric testing of the Swedish version of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument.

We examined whether the Swedish adaptation of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument (PGCMAI) developed by Lawton meets criteria for reliability and validity in an elderly Swedish population with locomotor disability. Data were collected, using the mid-length version of the instrument, from 199 elderly people with locomotor disability in two Swedish counties. Reliability was determined by Cronbach's alpha and construct validity was tested by means of exploratory factor analysis.

The life situation and functional capacity of the elderly with locomotor disability in Sweden and Poland according to a model by Lawton.

A quadripartite concept, the Good Life for older people, was developed by the American psychologist M. P. Lawton and forms the theoretical framework of this study.