Rp. Difabio et R. Seay, USE OF THE FAST EVALUATION OF MOBILITY, BALANCE, AND FEAR IN ELDERLY COMMUNITY DWELLERS - VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY, Physical therapy, 77(9), 1997, pp. 904-917
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.