Differences in valuation of functional status components among consumers and professionals in Europe and the United States

Abstract

The ratings of the importance of functional status items among geriatric experts and consumers in Europe and the United States differed in many cases between experts and consumers in both countries; the differences were more frequent among the U.S. samples. The overall correlation between consumer and expert rankings was .82 for both groups. In general consumers, rated instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) items more highly, whereas the experts rated the most dysfunctional activities of daily living (ADL) items higher than did consumers. This study suggests the gap in doctor-patient communication. As function is increasingly used as a clinical outcome, agreement is needed on how to weight the components. The differences uncovered in this study suggest a need for more dialogue about what ends are truly sought by various parties.