Introduction: The Balance Evaluation System Test (BESTest) and the Mini-BESTest were developed to assess the complementary systems that contribute to balance function. These tests include functional tasks involving several high-level exercises to assess the balance function, which may be even more difficult in case of frailty. The Frail'BESTest has been developed to make it possible to include frail older adults in systemic assessment. In this first paper, the objective is to present the Frail'BESTest and to describe the usefulness and complementarity of each system and to test the inter-rater reliability of the score measurements in two health centers. Methods: In the first center, 192 frail and non-frail older patients were enrolled to test I) the contribution of each system, II) internal consistency, and III) the threshold and ceiling effects. The scores of 32 patients from center 1 and 32 patients recruited in another center (center 2) were used to measure the inter-rater reliability of the measurements by means of Kendall's tau coefficients. Results: The internal consistency was moderate to good for five systems and limited for "biomechanical constraints". The distribution of the Frail'BESTest was more centered than that of the Tinetti and Mini-Motor tests. The Kendall's tau showed strong concordance in center 1 for all systems and only for 4 on 6 systems in center 2. Discussion: Completing a systemic evaluation, the therapist may prioritize the patient's needs identifying the most challenging systems. This paper presents the Frail'BESTest and confirms the psychometric properties at a first step level.

Background The Frail’BESTest was developed in order to include frail older adults when they are using the BESTest. Recently, psychometrics properties (internal coherence, systems usefulness, complementarity and inter-rater reliability) of the Frail’BESTest were tested. To complete these analyses, this study will aim the assessment of its concurrent validity, responsiveness, predictive validity on falls occurrence, and slower walkers detection. Methods The correlation between the Frail’BESTest and the Gait Speed Test permitted to assess concurrent validity. The variation between the initial test score and the score obtained after the completion of a rehabilitation program was used to evaluate responsiveness with MANOVA analysis and standard response mean (SRM) calculation. Predictive validity was assessed with receiver-operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (AUC) analysis regarding falls occurrence. Slower walkers detection thresholds were computed by receiver-operating characteristic curves for the Frail’BESTest and the Tinetti test. Results The concurrent validity of the test was good (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). The Standard Error of measurement was at 2.81 points and the Minimal Detectable Change at 7.79 points for the total score of the Frail’BESTest. The SRM was at 0.41 for the Tinetti test and 0.56 for the Frail’BESTest. The AUC, computed according to fall occurrence, was at 0.71 for the Gait Speed test, 0.673 for the Tinetti test and 0.693 for the Frail’BESTest. Both the Tinetti (AUC = 0.87) and the Frail’BESTest (AUC = 0.88) were found suitable for tracking slower walkers. Conclusion Concurrent validity and responsiveness of the Frail’BESTest were good. As for the Tinetti and the Frail’BESTest, they were unable to predict efficiently falls occurrence in the tested sample. The Frail’BESTest seems enough sensitive to spot the slower walkers efficiently, using a 15/20 threshold method. The Frail’BESTest was found to be a valid and responsive clinical test, therefore it can be recommended as an outcome measure in clinical practice.

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