TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2004//
TI  - Development and preliminary examination of the predictive validity of the Falls Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) for use in primary care
JO  - Journal of public health (Oxford)
A1  - Nandy, Sudip
A1  - Parsons, Suzanne
A1  - Cryer, Colin
A1  - Underwood, Martin R.
A1  - Rashbrook, Elaine
A1  - Carter, Yvonne H.
A1  - Eldridge, Sandra
A1  - Close, Jacqueline
A1  - Skelton, Dawn A.
A1  - Taylor, Stephanie
A1  - Feder, Gene
SP  - 138
EP  - 143
VL  - 26
IS  - 2
N2  - BACKGROUND: There is no validated assessment of an older person's risk of falling that is easily applied in primary care. We aimed to develop a two-part tool for use in primary care or the community. Part 1 includes a rapid assessment of the individual's risk of falling for administration by clinical or non-clinical staff. Part 2 (for clinical staff) includes guidance on further assessment, referral and interventions. We assessed the predictive validity of part 1. METHODS: The tool was developed by an expert panel following the updating of an existing systematic review of community-based prospective studies identifying risk factors for falling and modified in accordance with the feedback from extensive piloting. We assessed predictive validity by a questionnaire survey sent at baseline and 6 months to a random sample of 1000 people aged over 65 in one Primary Care Group area. RESULTS: Five items were included in part 1: history of any fall in the previous year, four or more prescribed medications, diagnosis of stroke or Parkinson's disease, reported problems with balance, inability to rise from a chair without using arms. The presence of three or more risk factors had a positive predictive value for a fall in the next 6 months of 0.57 (95 per cent confidence interval 0.43-0.69). Less than three risk factors had a negative predictive value of 0.86 (0.82-0.89), and a specificity of 0.92 (0.88-0.94). CONCLUSION: The tool may be useful for identifying people who would benefit from further assessment of their risk of falling and appropriate intervention.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1741-3842
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdh132
ID  - ref1
ER  -