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OARS: THE METHOD AND ITS USES

 

The Duke OARS (Older Americans Resources and Services) Program, developed at the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, was specifically designed as a means of determining the impact of services and alternative service programs on the functional status of older persons.  The resulting brief, valid, and reliable instruments have been used for purposes as varied as individual clinical assessment of personal functional status, surveys of the status of adult populations, assessment of service utilization and service requirements, longitudinal investigations in community, clinic and long-term care settings, and training of service providers.

 

In order to examine the impact of services on functional state, OARS developed a three-part model:

 

1) Assessment of individual functional status, in order to group together people of comparable functional status;

 

2) Disaggregation of services into their generic components, and reaggregation according to actual use (service packages);

 

3) Use of a transition matrix to study the impact of specific service packages on specific functional states.

 

The OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire (OMFAQ) operationalizes the first two parts of this model.  The first section of the OMFAQ seeks information on five dimensions of functioning: Social Resources, Economic Resources, Mental Health, Physical Health, and ability to carry out Activities of Daily Living.  On each dimension the information obtained is summarized on a 6-point scale where the values range from 1 (level of functioning excellent) to 6 (level of functioning totally impaired).

 

The second section of the OMFAQ inquires about the extent, intensity of utilization, and perceived need for each of 24 non-overlapping, broadly encompassing generic services.

 

Total administration time for the entire OMFAQ is about 45 minutes.  Information is usually sought in a personal interview with the subject or an informant, although sections can be obtained by mail or telephone.  No advanced or professional education is required to administer this questionnaire. 

 

 

Training in the Use of the OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire

 

Individual professionals and/or program directors who are planning to make use of the OARS multidimensional functional assessment technology on a regular programmatic basis or for a research project should review a video training tape (available from the Aging Center), to assure consistent and reliable data collection   All who plan to conduct interviews on a regular basis should be trained in the administration of the OARS questionnaire. The OARS staff stands ready to assist OARS users in any way they can. Assistance includes suggestions for overcoming problems in administration, help in research design, and aid in data analysis and interpretation. A manual (please see below) is available

 

 

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MANUAL

Fillenbaum GG. Multidimensional Functional Assessment of Older Adults: The Duke Older Americans Resources and Services Procedures. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, 1988.

(Only electronic version, updated in 2005, now available.)

CONTENTS

 

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Overview

Chap 1.            The OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire

Chap 2.            The Validity and Reliability of the OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire

Chap 3.            Psychometric Structure and Computer-Based Rating of Part A.  Functional Assessment

Chap 4.            Services

Chap 5.            Aggregating Functional Status and Services Information

Chap 6.            The OARS Model: Use and Uses

Chap 7.            Administration of the OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire

Chap 8.            Differences between the 1975 and 1988 Editions of the OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire

Chap 9.            Comparison Norms: Elderly Living in the Community, Institutions, and Attending Daycare