Physical Therapy Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Journal
Prosthetics and Orthotics International
Volume
43
Issue
6
First Page
609
Last Page
617
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364619875623
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinicians use the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale to understand balance confidence. A short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale, was developed using the six most difficult tasks from the original Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale; however, short-form the short-form scale psychometrics and agreement with the original scale have yet to be explored in people with lower extremity amputations.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative and absolute reliability, construct validity, and agreement of the short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale.
STUDY DESIGN: Test-retest with a 2-week interval.
METHODS: Analysis for relative reliability and internal consistency was intraclass correlation coefficient and Cronbach's
RESULTS: The short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.92) and Activities-specific Balance Confidence (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.91) scales had excellent relative reliability. Both scales demonstrated good internal consistency. Worse absolute reliability was observed in the short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. Construct validity against the L Test was confirmed. Bland-Altman plots indicated poor agreement between scales.
CONCLUSION: Both scales exhibit excellent relative reliability and good internal consistency and construct validity. Poor agreement between short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence and Activities-specific Balance Confidence indicates the scales should not be used interchangeably. Inadequate absolute reliability of the short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale suggests the Activities-specific Balance Confidence should be the balance confidence scale of choice.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Balance confidence is an important metric for our understanding of rehabilitation and community re-integration in people with lower extremity amputations. Due to inferior absolute reliability and a lack of appropriate items composing the short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale, the full-scale Activities-specific Balance Confidence is recommended for the assessment of balance confidence in this population.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Notes
This is not the final, published version. The final version is available at:
Fuller K, Omana H, Frengopoulos C, Viana R, Payne M, Hunter SW. Reliability, validity, and agreement of the Short-form Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale in people with lower extremity amputations. Prosthetics and Orthotics International. 2019;43(6):609-617. Epub September 20, 2019. doi: 10.1177/0309364619875623