USE OF THE FAST EVALUATION OF MOBILITY, BALANCE, AND FEAR IN ELDERLY COMMUNITY DWELLERS - VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

Background and Purpose. Identifying elderly community dwellers who are at risk for falling was assessed using a comprehensive screening tool referred to as the ''Fast Evaluation of Mobility, Balance, and Fear'' (FEMBAF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concurrent va lidity and reliability of scores on the FEMBAF. Subjects. Thirty-five elderly persons living in the community (4 men, 31 women), with a mean age 79.9 years (SD=8.5, range=60-92), participated. Methods. Subjects were tested using the FEMBAF and three other instruments-the balance subscale of the Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (B-PO MA), the Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (CTSIB), and the Timed Up and Go Test. Scores on the FEMBAF were compared with scor es on each the other instruments using Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients and analysis of covariance (with age as the covariate) f or living status and diagnostic category. A comparison of the number o f subjects classified as being at risk for falling was done descriptiv ely for the FEMBAF, B-POMA, and CTSIB. Results. Associations (r>.35) w ere found between the FEMBAF and each of the other instruments in the areas of FEMBAF risk-factor count, task completion, mobility, and stre ngth. The FEMBAF classified a greater number of subjects as being at r isk for falling (89%) compared with the B-POMA (43%) and the CTSIB (63 %). The mean chance-corrected percentage of agreement between raters o n the FEMBAF was kappa=.95 (SD=.15) for assessment of risk factors and kappa=.96 (SD=.12) for task completion. Conclusion and Discussion. Th e FEMBAF provides valid and reliable measurements of risk factors, fun ctional performance, and factors that hinder mobility.