Αξιολόγηση της αποδιδόμενης αξιοπρέπειας στα ηλικιωμένα άτομα: Μετάφραση, Εγκυροποιήση και πολιτισμική προσαρμογή του ερευνητικού εργαλείου JADS

Abstract

Backround: Maintaining dignity is considered vital for successful aging and is associated with health status, quality of life and the ability of the elderly to maintain their independence. The dignity as a concept in the context of health care for the elderly is associated with the aging process, the physical and cognitive decline, vulnerability, loss of personal identity and negative behaviors. Through inspections made occasionally by government bodies and various committees, evaluating the quality of care worldwide, hospitals appear unable to maintain standards of care on dignity. In Cyprus there is no evidence to show how the elderly perceive dignity, or whether it is threatened through care, there are no reliable, credible tools translated and adapted into Greek language to measure the dignity of the elderly. Aim and objectives: The purpose of this study is the translation in Greek language and cultural adaptation in the population of Cyprus, of the scale Jacelon Attributed Dignity Scale (JADS). Furthermore, the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the scale, and the correlation of attributed dignity with the demographic data of the elderly as well as their functional abilities using the research tool IADL. Material- Method: The survey involved 188 elderly people aged ≥ 60 years who visited the outpatients department of Limassol General Hospital from June-September 2013. The translation and cultural adaptation of JADS was performed in accordance with international standards and guidelines of MAPI institute (2004-2013) and Sousa & Rojjanasrirat (2010). The reliability and homogeneity were assessed by measuring internal consistency using the Cronbach's a coefficient and item analysis. Construct validity was determined by Exploratory Factor Analysis using Principal Components method with Varimax rotation. Correlations of demographic and degree of functionality performed with Pearson correlation coefficient. In the correlations found, the Multiple Linear Regression was applied for the creation of statistical predicting models. Results: The results showed that the JADS-GR is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the attributed dignity in the elderly people of Cyprus, factors marital status, sex, age, educational level, economic status and degree of functionality seems to be associated with some of the dimensions of dignity but with low correlations, therefore they can not predict attributed dignity. Conclusion: The scale JADS-GR is a valid and reliable instrument to measure attributed dignity in Cypriot older adults. Further testing of the psychometric properties and other potential factors that may affect the attributed dignity need to be assessed in a more extensive research.