Falls efficacy scale international or elderly in Maharashtra: cross cultural adaptation and validation assessment

Abstract

Background: Aim of the study was to translate falls efficacy scale international (FES-I) in Marathi and to evaluate the translation on the basis of test-retest reliability, internal consistency, concurrent validity for elderly in Maharashtra. Methods: The study was divided in 2 phases. Phase 1: Translation of FES-I following translation back translation method following ProFane guidelines. Phase 2: Psychometric testing of the new version. In phase 1 translation in to Marathi and back. The 507 participants were included for the study. Activity specific balance scale was used to as a gold standard for criterion validity and Berg balance scale was used for construct validity. Results: Study had 53.3% of male and 43.7% of female participant. The validity (Cronbach alpha and ICC) and reliability (Spearman coefficient value) of the scale is excellent. Conclusions: FES-I (M) has excellent reliability and good validity. Hence this scale can be used to assess fear of falls in Maharashtrian elderly.