Feasibility, understandability, and usefulness of the STEP self-rating questionnaire: results of a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic description of the participating patients

Sociodemographic variable	Males	Females
Age [years]
Mean ± SD	72.61 ± 5.34	73.24 ± 5.85
Range	65 to 90	65 to 94
Age distribution
65 to 69	141 (35.6)	198 (33.5)
70 to 74	116 (29.3)	150 (25.4)
75 to 79	87 (22.0)	154 (26.1)
80 to 84	47 (11.9)	70 (11.8)
≥85	5 (1.3)	19 (3.2)
Marital status
Married	344 (87.3)	311 (53.7)
Widowed	37 (9.4)	195 (33.7)
Single	13 (3.3)	73 (12.6)
Children
0	42 (10.9)	82 (14.1)
1	123 (31.9)	198 (34.0)
≥2	221 (57.3)	302 (51.9)
Living conditions
Own flat	367 (93.4)	554 (95.2)
With family	26 (6.6)	28 (4.8)
nursing home	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)

Notes: n = 987; females: n = 591 (59.9%). If not stated otherwise, all values are absolute numbers, and the corresponding frequency is given as a percentage.

Table 2 Absolute numbers and percentage of items that remained unanswered and of items that were marked as difficult to understand by participating patients (n = 1007)

Subject area and item number	Item
	Not answered		Marked as difficult
	n	%	n	%
Personal data
1. Address	114	11.3	0	0
Diseases and medication
2. What of your diseases does your general practitioner treat?	130	12.9	0	0
3. Over-the-counter drugs	261	25.9	6	7.0
Number of drugs taken	103	10.2	0	0
4. Difficulty in doing usual daily activities	<91	<9.0	2	2.3
Physical fitness
5. Highest physical effort for 2 minutes during last 2 weeks?	221	21.9	33	38.4
6. Problems with IADL/ADL	<91	<9.0	3	3.5
Social environment
7. Do you care for someone who depends on your assistance?	183	18.2	0	0
Does someone care for you in case of illness or emergencies?	108	10.7	0	0
Is there a person you confide in?	98	9.7	0	0
9. List of problems concerning living conditions	<91	<9.0	5	5.8
Physical symptoms
11. Situations with dyspnea	<91	<9.0	22	25.6
Walking	118	11.7	ne	ne
Rest periods	350	34.8	ne	ne
At night in bed	325	34.8	ne	ne
18. What was the last blood pressure value?	177	17.6	0	0
19. Was the pulse arrhythmic?	142	14.1	0	0
29. Are there difficulties with hearing (even with hearing aid)?	490	48.7	0	0
Health behavior
36. Did you ever feel you drink too much alcohol?	128	12.7	17	19.8
Were you ever criticized for your drinking behavior?	129	12.8	0	0
38. Hospital treatment in the last year: inpatient, outpatient, ED?	<91	<9.0	3	3.5

Notes: Items remained unanswered by more than nine percent of participants. Items were marked as difficult to understand by 86 participants.

Abbreviations: ADL, activities of daily living; ED, emergency department; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living; ne, not estimated.

Table 3 The frequency of newly identified health-related problems (n = 281) and the percentage of problems that could have consequences in a subsample of n = 257 randomly selected patients

Health-related problems	Total	New		Consequences
	n	n	%	n	%
Drugs
Number of drugs used	235	9	3.8	0	0
Over-the-counter medication	63	16	25.8	0	0
Functional state
Problems with IADL/ADL	67	10	15.2	0	0
Difficulty in doing usual daily activities	117	6	5.3	0	0
Decreased physical fitness	94	3	1.3	0	0
Social environment
Financial difficulties	21	9	42.9	0	0
Social isolation	117	33	28.7	0	0
Problems concerning living conditions	63	14	25.0	0	0
Medical/social care
Use of services	79	6	7.9	0	0
Flu vaccination	49	6	14.0	0	0
Hospitalization	82	2	2.5	0	0
Physical and mental/emotional complaints
Teeth or mouth complaints	68	33	49.3	12	37.5
Falls	52	13	25.0	7	53.8
Urinary incontinence	81	27	34.2	9	36
Memory impairment	81	21	25.9	1	5
Digestive problems	33	4	12.1	1	33.3
Visual problems	30	5	17.2	0	0
Sleep disorder	107	10	9.4	3	33.3
Weight loss	20	2	10.5	0	0
Hearing problems	19	1	5.3	0	0
Depressive mood	58	5	8.8	0	0
Dyspnea	84	8	9.5	1	16.2
Elevated blood pressure	6	0	0	0	0
Pain in the chest	89	11	12.4	2	28.6
Pain in the legs while walking	90	5	5.6	1	50
Joint problems	157	5	3.2	3	60
Pain	144	6	4.2	1	33.3
Health behavior
Physical inactivity/unhealthy nutrition	40	11	30.6	0	0
Tobacco or alcohol abuse	24	0	0	0	0

Abbreviations: ADL, activities of daily living; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living.