Abstract
Introduction: Frailty is a state of vulnerability characterized by multisystemic physiological decline. The Pictorial Fit Frail Scale (PFFS) is a practical, image-based assessment that may facilitate the assessment of frailty in individuals with inadequate health literacy (HL). Objective: Determine the concurrent validity and feasibility of the PFFS in older Veterans with different levels of HL and cognition. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a geriatric clinic at a Veteran Health Administration (VHA) medical center. Veterans ≥65 years old completed a HL evaluation, PFFS, FRAIL scale and cognitive screening. We assessed the associations between PFFS, FRAIL scale, and VA-Frailty Index (VA-FI), and compared PFFS and FRAIL scale accuracy with a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis, using the VA-FI as reference. Results: Eighty-three Veterans, mean age 76.20 (SD = 6.02) years, 65.1% Caucasian, 69.9% had inadequate HL, 57.8% were frail and 20.5% had cognitive impairment. All participants completed the 43 PFFS items. There were positive correlations between PFFS and VA-FI, r = .55 (95% CI: 0.365-0.735, p < .001), and FRAIL scale, r = .673 (95% CI: 0.509-0.836, p < .001). Compared to the VA-FI, the PFFS (AUC = 0.737; 95% CI: 0.629-0.844) and FRAIL scale (AUC = 0.724;95% CI: 0.615-0.824; p < .001) showed satisfactory diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions: The PFFS is valid and feasible in evaluating frailty in older Veterans with different levels of HL and cognition.