Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of Falls Efficacy Scale – International (FES-I) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients.

Background: Fear of falling is a common and important psychological factor associated with falls in patients with PD. It can lead to activity restriction, decline in physical functioning, reduced quality of life. The Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) is a generic scale measuring the fear of falling.

Methods: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed based on the guidelines. Patients were evaluated with the FES-I, Hoehn&Yahr (H&Y) -on and -off, Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) part I (mentation, behavior and mood), part II (activities of daily living) -on and -off, and III (motor symptoms), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), 39-item Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) – Mobility and Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), history of falls in previous 6 months and 1 year, Timed Up-and-Go Test (TUGT), and 10-Meter Walk Test (10-MWT). The original FES-I contains 16 different items with four response categories. The total score is calculated by summing the included items and ranges from 16 to 64. The higher score is indicating worse status.

Results: 82 patients (47 males, 35 females) included in the present study. No data was missing for the FOG-Q. The mean total score of FES-I was 34.2 (SD 14.0, range 16-59). There was no ceiling effect in total score, but floor effect was 3.7%. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.97, corrected item-to-total correlations ranged from 0.68 to 0.92. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) that was used as a measure of the test-retest reliability was 0.97-0.99. The FES-I total score was significantly correlated with H&Y-on (Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient [SCC] 0.72), H&Y-off (SCC 0.74), UPDRS part I (SCC 0.69), UPDRS part II-on (SCC 0.73), UPDRS part II-off (SCC 0.76), UPDRS part III (SCC 0.61), HADS-Anxiety (SCC 0.48) and -Depression (SCC 0.52), history of falls in previous 6 months (SCC 0.59) and 1 year (SCC 0.64), PDQ-39 – Mobility (SCC 0.84) and – ADL (SCC 0.76), BBS (SCC -0.70), TUGT (SCC 0.68) and 10-MWT (SCC 0.64).

Conclusions: Our preliminary results showed that the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the FES-I is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the fear of falling in patients with PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/preliminary-results-of-psychometric-properties-of-the-turkish-version-of-falls-efficacy-scale-international-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/