Reliability and validity of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale-Japanese (ABC-J) in community-dwelling stroke survivors

Abstract

Objective: In Japan, there were 1.17 million people with stroke in 2014; however, studies on community rehabilitation among stroke survivors are lacking. The Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale is used in many languages to evaluate patients undergoing stroke rehabilitation. This study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the Japanese ABC scale (ABC-J) version among patients ! 6 months after stroke. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 88 post-stroke patients (mean age 66.5±9.5 years). The ABC-J was administered with the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), Timed Up and Go Test (TUG-T), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Geriatric Depression Scale-Short version-Japanese (GDS-S-J), and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). After a 1-2-week interval, the ABC-J was completed again by 69 of the patients. Reliability was investigated for reproducibility (intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC], standard error of measurement [SEM], and minimal detectable change [MDC]) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α). Concurrent and convergent validities were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Results: The ABC-J showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95) and substantial test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.92, 95% confidence interval: 0.87-0.95), with SEM and MDC of 7.14 and 19.79, respectively. The total ABC-J score was significantly correlated with 10MWT (r = −0.51, p < 0.001), TUG-T (r = −0.55, p < 0.001), BBS (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), GDS-S-J (r = −0.27, p = 0.012), and FES-I (r = −0.77, p < 0.001). Conclusion: ABC-J is a valid and reliable measurement tool for investigating balance confidence among patients ! 6 months after stroke.

Effect of Multisession Progressive Gait-Slip Training on Fall-Resisting Skills of People with Chronic Stroke: Examining Motor Adaptation in Reactive Stability

“…Clinical outcome measures: Scores on clinical measures such as the ABC scale, the Mini-BESTest, BBS, and treadmill natural walking speed were analyzed to determine the effect of treadmill-based gait-slip training. The ABC scale, a 16-item self-reported scale assessing balance confidence during the performance of activities without loss of balance have been known to be valid and reliable among community-dwelling PwCS [ 57 , 58 , 59 ]. The Mini-BEST test, a 14-item test including reactive balance control and anticipatory adjustments, is a valid and reliable tool to measure dynamic balance in PwCS [ 60 , 61 ].…”

Psychometric properties of a short version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale-Japanese (Short ABC-J) in community-dwelling people with stroke

“…We obtained the data from a previous multicenter, cross-sectional observational study, which cross-culturally validated the ABC-J 16-item scale (Ishige, Wakui, Miyazawa, and Naito, 2020). In that study, the sample size required to estimate reproducibility was 50 based on an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC2,1) target value of 0.8 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of ±0.1 (Giraudeau and Mary, 2001).…”

“…Among several balance self-efficacy measures that are patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC scale) is widely used in the clinical and research areas of post-stroke rehabilitation and is positioned as an important outcome in PA intervention studies (Tang et al, 2015) and can be a modifiable factor for various important outcomes such as improving balance, mobility, activities of daily living (ADL), quality of life, reduced depression (Botner, Miller, and Eng, 2005;Forsberg and Nilsagard, 2013;Ishige, Wakui, Miyazawa, and Naito, 2020;Korpershoek, van der Bijl, and Hafsteinsdottir, 2011;Salbach et al, 2006), and post-stroke PA (Thilarajah et al, 2018). The ABC scale is recommended by the American Physical Therapy Association as a rehabilitation PROM for patients at subacute and chronic post-stroke stages (Sullivan et al, 2013) and is selected as one of the core outcome measures (Moore et al, 2018) according to the recent Clinical Practice Guideline for adults with neurologic conditions undergoing rehabilitation by the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy.…”

“…The balance and mobility of the respondents especially affect each score because balance self-efficacy correlates with the actual performance of daily living activities (Powell and Myers, 1995). The ABC scale has been validated in several languages for stroke, e.g., English (Botner, Miller, and Eng, 2005;Salbach et al, 2006), Canadian French (Salbach et al, 2006), Swedish (Forsberg and Nilsagard, 2013), and very recently, the excellent psychometric properties of its Japanese version have been verified for community people with chronic stroke (Ishige, Wakui, Miyazawa, and Naito, 2020).…”

Walking while talking: validation in older adults with lower-limb amputation

“…This score has been used and validated in various populations and has been translated to numerous languages. [19][20][21][22][23] Miller et al 24 have shown evidence of validity for the ABC in older adults with LLA.…”