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The Gerontologist Advance Access published online on March 27, 2009
The Gerontologist, doi:10.1093/geront/gnp019
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Assessment of Anxiety in Older Home Care Recipients

Gretchen J. Diefenbach, PhD1,2, David F. Tolin, PhD2, Suzanne A. Meunier, PhD2 and Christina M. Gilliam, PhD2

2 Anxiety Disorders Center, Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, Connecticut

1 Address correspondence to Gretchen J. Diefenbach, PhD, Anxiety Disorders Center, Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, 200 Retreat Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106. E-mail: gdiefen{at}harthosp.org


  Abstract

Purpose: This study determined the psychometric properties of a variety of anxiety measures administered to older adults receiving home care services. Design and Methods: Data were collected from 66 adults aged 65 years and older who were receiving home care services. Participants completed self-report and clinician-rated measures of anxiety and diagnostic interviews for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Results: Most measures demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. All of the measures showed excellent interrater reliability to support verbal administration, which is the typical mode of assessment in home care. The ease of use for each measure (e.g., time of administration) was also evaluated. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) demonstrated the strongest and the Beck Anxiety Inventory the weakest psychometric properties. The GAI and the GAD screening questions from The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) demonstrated the greatest utility in screening for anxiety disorders (either GAD or anxiety disorder not otherwise specified). Implications: These data support the use of anxiety measures within a geriatric home care setting. The strengths and weaknesses of each measure are discussed to facilitate selection of the optimal measure depending upon assessment goals and available resources.

Keywords: Anxiety, Home care, Assessment

Received December 20, 2007; Accepted March 26, 2008

Decision Editor: William J. McAuley, PhD


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