BMC Geriatrics Evaluating the Efficacy of Assessments in Identifying Self-Reported Auditory and Visual Impairments among Elderly Individuals in the Faroe Islands – a ROC curve analysis

The objective of this investigation was to compare self-reported auditory and visual impairments with objective measurements among individuals aged 76 residing in the Faroe Islands. Data on 167 persons were collected through a cross-sectional study in which participants were screened for hearing and vision problems, first by a structured interview and then by ophthalmologic and audiologic measurements. The prevalence of seeing problems among Faroese 76-year-olds was much higher when identified by ophthalmologic and audiologic criteria than by self-report. For hearing problems, the prevalence rates produced by the two methods did not differ significantly. Agreement analysis by Cohen’s kappa and by ROC-curve construction showed that self-reports of problems with seeing and hearing were less accurate than problem identification by ophthalmologic and audiologic criteria. Nevertheless, for hearing problems – but not for eyesight problems – the kappa and AUC scores indicated that self-reports may be precise enough, considering the higher technical and administrative costs of screening by audiologists.