Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Falls Behavioral (FaB-Brazil) Scale.

Abstract

To develop and cross-culturally adapt a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Falls Behavioral Scale (FaB-Brazil) and to verify its psychometric properties. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation process of the scale followed standard guidelines. The FaB-Brazil scale was applied to 93 community-dwelling older people. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to evaluate internal consistency and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to evaluate interrater and test-retest reliability. The standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change (MDC), ceiling and floor effects, convergent and discriminative validity were evaluated. A significance level of .05 was set for statistical analyses. Internal consistency was moderate (α = 0.73). An excellent inter-rater (ICC = 0.93; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and a good test-retest (ICC = 0.79; <i>p</i> < 0.001) reliability were found. The SEM was 0.27 and MDC was 0.53. Neither ceiling nor floor effects were found. Convergent validity was established by the positive correlations between the FaB-Brazil scale, age, and functional mobility, and by the negative correlations between the FaB-Brazil scale and balance confidence, community mobility and EuroQol-5D (<i>p</i> < 0.05). No significant differences were found between males and females and between non-fallers and fallers. Our results offer evidence for the reliability and validity of the FaB-Brazil scale for community-dwelling older people.Implications for RehabilitationFall-related behaviors should be part of the fall risk assessment of community-dwelling older people.The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Falls Behavioral Scale (FaB-Brazil) is reliable and valid for assessing fall-related behaviors in community-dwelling older people.The FaB-Brazil scale may be used to raise awareness about potential fall hazards and to guide fall prevention programs.