Background:
The aim of this study was to explore, via empirical comparison, the relationship between quality of life, as measured by the ICECAP-O capability index (a new instrument designed to measure and value quality of life in older people), with both self-reported health status and the quality of care transition in adults aged 65 and over participating in outpatient rehabilitation or the Australian National Transition Care programs.
Methods:
The ICECAP-O was administered to patients receiving either outpatient rehabilitation (n=55) or transition care (n=31) during a face to face interview. The relationships between the ICECAP-O and other instruments, including the EQ-5D (a self-reported measure of health status) and CTM-3 (a self-reported measure of the quality of care transitions), the type of post-acute care being received and socio-demographic characteristics were examined.
Results:
The mean ICECAP-O score for the total sample was 0.805 (sd: 0.155). Patients receiving outpatient rehabilitation generally reported higher levels of capability, than patients receiving transition care (mean 0.815 [sd: 0.151] and 0.786 [sd: 0.164] respectively), however these differences were not statistically significant. The mean EQ-5D score for the total sample was somewhat lower than the ICECAP-O (mean 0.525; sd: 0.267) indicating significant levels of health impairment with the outpatient rehabilitation group demonstrating slightly higher levels of health status than the transition care group (mean 0.539 [sd: 0.254] and mean 0.501 [sd: 0.289]). The ICECAP-O was found to be positively correlated with both the CTM-3 (Spearman’s r =0.234; p[less than or equal to]0.05) and the EQ-5D (Spearman’s r=0.437; p[less than or equal to]0.001). The relationships between the total EQ-5D scores and the individual attributes of the ICECAP-O indicate health status in this patient population to be influential in some, but not all aspects of capability.
Conclusions:
The correlations between the ICECAP-O, EQ-5D and CTM-3 instruments illustrate that capability is strongly and positively associated with health-related quality of life and the quality of care transitions. However further research is required to further examine the construct validity of the ICECAP-O and to examine its potential for incorporation into economic evaluation.