Validation of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International in fall-prone older persons.

摘要

SIR-Fear of falling in community-dwelling older persons [1, 2] may lead to activity restriction [3]. It can predict future falls [4] and is an important fall-related psychological outcome [5-9]. The widely used 10-item Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) [5] does not evaluate the social dimension of fear of falling and refers almost exclusively to very basic activities of daily living, making it insensitive when used in active older persons. To remedy this, a new 16-item Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) [10] has been developed by the Prevention of Falls Network Europe (ProFaNE, www.profane.eu. org), showing excellent psychometric properties in a cross-cultural context [11]. Furthermore, a seven-item FES-I has been developed and recommended for use as part of a test battery and for screening purposes [12].