Validation of the International 7-Item Falls Efficacy Scale in Portuguese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Objective to determine the psychometric properties of the international 7-item Falls Efficacy Scale. Method a psychometric study. Convenience sample consisting of 170 older adults living in the Madeira Autonomous Region, Portugal. A two-part instrument was used (sociodemographic characterization and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International-Portugal). The starting point was the translation and transcultural adaptation already carried out for the Falls Efficacy Scale - International (16 items). Construct validity (factorial analysis and discriminant validity) and the reliability (Cronbach's α) of the 7-item scale were evaluated. Previous authorization was obtained from the Ethics Commission and from the people involved. Results in the exploratory factorial analysis, the International 7-item Falls Efficacy Scale presents an explained variance of 65.8%. The Spearman's correlation between the score obtained based on the 7 items and the score obtained based on the 16 items is significant and very strong (r=0.987, p<0.0001). Internal consistency was 0.958. Conclusion the validity and reliability study of the International 7-item Falls Efficacy Scale revealed that it is an adequate scale for the evaluation of the fear of falling in the community-dwelling older adults.

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“…Moderate concern of falling with the Short Falls Efficacy Scale International (Short FES-I) >9 ( 33 );…”

“…The ratings are often done on a scale, typically ranging from 1 (not at all concerned) to 4 (extremely concerned). This scale had good test–retest reliability ( r = 0.987) and good internal consistency ( α = 0.958) ( 33 );…”