The Swedish Version of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument (PGCMAI) : Development and testing in an old-age population with locomotor disability

Abstract: The general aim was to examine the Swedish version of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument, PGCMAI, in a population of old people with locomotor disability in Sweden. Specific aims were to examine whether the Swedish version of the PGCMAI meets the criteria of reliability and validity when assessing the life situation of Swedish old people with locomotor disability and to explore the pattern of the Swedish version of the instrument in respect of age and gender.Home visits were made to 199 people aged 60 years and older in two counties in Sweden. They were interviewed using the Swedish version of the PGCMAI and tested with the Standardized Practical Equipment test, SPE. The data collected were tested for reliability and validity. Cronbach’s alpha varied from 0.27 to 0.86 among the eight domains of the PGCMAI, which concurred with other studies in the field. Validity was analyzed by explorative factor analysis. The eight new factors showed construct validity with a logical relation to the eight original domain distributions. There were also significant relationships between both the original domains of the PGCMAI and the SPE and the new factors of the PGCMAI and the SPE. Both the original Mobility domain index and the new factor correlated well with the ‘Balance and mobility’ factor in the SPE. The Cognitive domain index and the corresponding new factor show a high correlation with the ‘Cognitive functions’ factor in the SPE. The Swedish version of the PGCMAI and SPE presented a functional pattern among old men and women whereby women had deteriorated most with age, which is in agreement with other studies.In conclusion the reliability and validity testing of the Swedish version of the PGCMAI has given satisfactory results when used with old people with locomotor disability. The Swedish version of the PGCMAI can be considered a valuable tool for measuring function in old people with locomotor disability.