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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION: More than 52.4% of people with a lower extremity amputation (PLEA) will fall at least once each year. Previously established standardized scales which evaluate a concern for falling (CFF) were primarily developed among community dwelling older adults. The reliability of commonly used scales to evaluate a CFF among PLEA is needed.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate test-retest relative and absolute reliability, and agreement of the Modified Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (mSAFFE), Falls Efficacy Scale - International (FES-I), Consequences of Falling (COF) Scale, Perceived Control Over Falling (PCOF) Scale, and Perceived Ability to Manage Falls (PAMF) Scale among PLEA.
DESIGN: Web-based cross-sectional repeated measures study. SETTING: Rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Regularly scheduled appointments (N = 22, mean age ± SD, 63.5 ± 12.9 years) with a transtibial or transfemoral level amputation, completed a prosthetic rehabilitation program, and at minimum of one year using a prosthesis for ambulation. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Initial and re-test scores on the mSAFFE, FES-I, COF, PAMF, and PCOF.
RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) demonstrated excellent relative reliability of the mSAFFE [ICC = 0.92 (95% CI: 0.82-0.97)], good relative reliability of the FES-I [ICC = 0.87 (95% CI: 0.70-0.94)], and fair relative reliability of the COF [ICC = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.53-0.90)] and PAMF [ICC = 0.73 (95% CI: 0.46-0.88)] scales. The ICC value of the PCOF scale could not be validly calculated and was not further analyzed. Calculated SE of measurement values for the mSAFFE, FES-I, COF, and PAMF scales were small in magnitude and Bland-Altman graphs demonstrated good agreement of initial and re-test scores for all scales.
CONCLUSION: This study provides initial evidence on the suitability and reliable use of the mSAFFE, FES-I, COF, and PAMF scales within this population. Further evaluation of the validity of these scales is needed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Language: en |