The resulting brief, valid, and reliable instruments have been used for purposes as varied as individual clinical assessment of personal functional status, surveys of the status of adult populations, assessment of service utilization and service requirements, longitudinal investigations in community, clinic and long-term care settings, and training of service providers.
Information is sought in a personal interview with the subject or an informant.
Training courses are offered at the Center. All who plan to conduct interviews on a regular basis should be trained in the administration of the OARS questionnaire. If the number of interviewers involved is substantial, senior staff people may be trained and they can then train others at their site. Persons who have been trained at Duke may not train others outside their program without our permission. After training, the OARS staff stands ready to assist OARS users in any way they can.