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Occupational Therapy Assessment of Potential Hazards in the Homes of Elderly People: an Inter‐Rater Reliability Study
Author(s) -
Clemson Lindy,
Roland Maryanne,
Cumming Robert
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1630.1992.tb01753.x
Subject(s) - shower , toilet , reliability (semiconductor) , medicine , inter rater reliability , occupational therapy , cohen's kappa , statistic , occupational safety and health , physical therapy , psychology , rating scale , statistics , engineering , mechanical engineering , developmental psychology , power (physics) , physics , mathematics , pathology , quantum mechanics , nozzle
Falls and fractured hips in the elderly have often been attributed to home environmental factors. There is a lack of research evaluating occupational therapists' reliability in assessing the home environment for potential safety hazards. Twenty home visits were conducted by seven therapists with two occupational therapy raters present at each home visit. The kappa statistic was used to determine inter‐rater reliability. Generally, therapists were able to reliably rate potential hazards in the home, however, some areas, such as the toilet area and shower rails had poor reliability. It is recommended that more objective criteria be developed for assessing potential hazards in the home.