Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Aug 18, 2022
Date Accepted: Apr 30, 2023
Assessment of frailty by the French version of the Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 on digital tablet: a validation study.
ABSTRACT
Background:
The assessment of frailty is a major issue in geriatric medicine. The Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13) is a simple and practical tool that identifies frailty through a 13-item questionnaire completed by older adults or their family caregivers by self-administration (pencil and paper) or by telephone interview. The VES-13 provides a 10-point score that is also a recognized predictor of mortality.
Objective:
To design an electronic version of the Echelle de Vulnérabilité des Ainés-13, the French version of the VES-13 - (eEVA-13) for use on a digital tablet and validate it.
Methods:
The scale was implemented as a webApp in three different screens and used on an Android tablet (14.0 x 25.6 cm). Participants were patients attending the outpatient clinic of a French geriatric hospital or hospitalized in a rehabilitation ward and family caregivers of geriatric patients. They completed the scale twice, once by a reference method (self-administered questionnaire or telephone interview) and once by eEVA-13 using the digital tablet. Agreement for diagnosis of frailty was assessed by the kappa coefficient, and scores were compared by Bland and Altman plots and interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). User experience was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire.
Results:
Eighty-six participants, including 40 patients and 46 family caregivers, participated in the study. The agreement between the eEVA-13 and the reference method for the diagnosis of frailty was excellent (kappa 0.92). Bland and Altman plots showed a high level of agreement between the eEVA-13 and the reference methods and ICC value was 0.997 (95% CI: 0.994-0.998) for the paper and tablet group and 0.977 (95% CI: 0.957-0.988) for the phone and tablet group.
Conclusions:
The eEVA-13 is an appropriate digital tool for diagnosing frailty and can be used by older adults and their family caregivers. The scores obtained with eEVA-13 are highly correlated with those obtained with the original version. Clinical Trial: Research project n° 20.08.04.58402 RIPH3 HPS, N° ID RCB : 2020-A02331-38
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