Background: The Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (Short FES-I) has been confirmed to be a good measure with reliability and validity in a UK sample; however, the reliability and validity of the Short FES-I for Japanese older people have not yet been established.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the Short FES-I for Japanese older people.
Methods: The study participants were 519 older people aged 65 years and over who were living independently in their community. The Short FES-I is composed of seven items rated on a four-point Likert scale. Lower scores indicate better fall-related efficacy. To investigate the validity of the Short FES-I, previous falls, physical function such as grip strength and scores on the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, psychological factors such as self-rated health (SRH), cognitive function, and other confounding factors were collected. The association between the previous falls and the Short FES-I was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, factors related to the Short FES-I were investigated using multiple regression analysis.
Results: Cronbach's alpha for the Short FES-I was 0.87. Short FES-I scores were significantly higher in participants with a history of falls than in those without. In addition, Short FES-I scores were significantly and independently associated with falls in logistic regression analysis, and significantly associated with grip strength, TUG time, and SRH in multiple regression analysis.
Conclusions and discussion: These results suggest that the Short FES-I is a reliable and valid fall-related measurement scale for Japanese older people.
Keywords: Aged; Fall-related efficacy; Japanese; Reliability; Validity.