Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Do elder emergency department patients and their informants agree about the elder's functioning?
To compare elder patients' and their informants' ratings of the elder's physical and mental function measured by a standard instrument, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12 (SF-12). ⋯ Elders' self-ratings of physical function were higher than those of proxies who knew them. There was no difference in mental function ratings between patients and their proxies. Switching from informants' to patients' reports in evaluating elders' physical function in longitudinal studies may introduce error.