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Assessing Care Of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE)

Take the vulnerable elders survey for yourself or your older adult family member

Patient Instructions

Maintaining health is important for everyone - and it's particularly important for older adults. The good news is that quality healthcare can help you maintain your health and function even if you are at risk of health decline. Take this short survey to determine if you are at increased risk for health decline over the next two years, and talk to your doctor about the results.

Please select the answer that best describes your age and health. After you have completed the survey, click the SUBMIT button and we will calculate your score for you.

1. How old are you?
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years or older
2. Compared to other people your age, how would you describe your health?
Excellent or good
Fair or poor
3. On a typical day, are any of these activities very difficult or impossible to do?
Yes No
Stooping, crouching, or kneeling?
Lifting or carrying objects as heavy as 10 pounds, like a sack of potatoes?
Reaching or extending arms above shoulder level?
Writing, or handling and grasping small objects?
Walking a quarter of a mile? That's about 2 or 3 blocks.
Heavy housework such as scrubbing floors or washing windows?
4. Because of your health, is it too difficult or impossible for you to perform any of these activities without help from someone else?
Yes No
Shopping for personal items, like toilet items or medicines?
Managing money, like keeping track of expenses or paying bills?
Walking across the room? (USE OF CANE OR WALKER IS OK.)
Doing light housework, like washing dishes, straightening up, or light cleaning?
Bathing or showering?

ACOVE survey provided courtesy of the Pfizer Inc.

R E F E R E N C E
Saliba D, Elliot M, Rubenstein LZ et al. The Vulnerable Elders Survey: A Tool for Identifying Vulnerable Older People in the Community. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2001;49:1691-1699.