Rasch analysis of the hierarchical assessment of balance and mobility (HABAM)

Measuring changes in mobility and balance offers a means of responding to t he clinically important challenge of tracking progression and recovery in f rail elderly patients who become ill. This article uses Rasch analysis to c onstruct an interval scale from ordinal observations of such changes, using the Hierarchical Assessment of Balance and Mobility (HABAM) on 204 frail e lderly inpatients. Principal components analysis confirmed the unidimension ality of the scale. The Rasch analysis confirmed the hierarchy of the HABAM , and pointed to gaps and redundant items. On this basis, an improved versi on of the HABAM was developed, suitable in its graphical form for everyday clinical use and for research, using the interval numbers that were generat ed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.