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Preliminary findings of the Brief Everyday Activities Measurement (BEAM) in older adults

  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

Functional losses are common in healthy and cognitively impaired older adults. However, subtle declines in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are not always detected in self-reports. Performance IADL measurements are financially and time burdensome, restricting their use in varied settings. To address these limitations, we developed the Brief Everyday Activities Measure (BEAM), a short (< 5 minutes) objective IADL measure that assesses medication and finance management.

Design

The BEAM was administered to 209 cognitively non-demented community-dwellers (ages 65–95 years).

Setting

Community.

Participants

The BEAM was administered to 209 cognitively non-demented community-dwellers (ages 65–95 years).

Measurements

Participants completed standardized motor, neuropsychological, psychological, and self-report functional assessments.

Results

completion time was moderate (0.65, 95% CI [.43 -.78]). Accuracy for total BEAM performance was in the low-moderate range (Kappa = 0.38, p <.001, 95% CI [.18 -.54]). As predicted, lower accuracy and longer time to complete the BEAM were both associated with worse executive functions, attention, and processing speed.

Conclusion

Medication and finance management can be efficiently assessed within five minutes. The BEAM may be a valuable screening tool to evaluate these functional abilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ferkauf School of Graduate Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    E. A. Scharaga & Roee Holtzer

  2. Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Roee Holtzer

  3. Ph.D. Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Roee Holtzer

Authors
  1. E. A. Scharaga
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  2. Roee Holtzer
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Correspondence to Roee Holtzer.

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Scharaga, E.A., Holtzer, R. Preliminary findings of the Brief Everyday Activities Measurement (BEAM) in older adults. J Nutr Health Aging 19, 929–934 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-015-0545-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-015-0545-5

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