Psychometric Properties of the Czech Version of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International in Patients with Early-Stage Dementia.

ABSTRACT: Introduction:A fear of falling marks an important psychological factor connected with a reduction in the life space of people with dementia. The Czech version of the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) has not been validated in patients with early-stage dementia. Methods:The tests were administered to 282 patients with early-stage dementia. The test battery included the following: the FES-I, the Short Physical Performance Battery, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Bristol Activity Daily Living Scale, and the Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease Scale. Internal reliability (Cronbach's ? and intraclass correlation [ICC]), Pearson's and Spearman's correlations, exploratory factor analysis, and a t test for independent samples were used for statistical analyses. Results:The Czech version of the FES-I had excellent internal and test-retest reliability (Cronbach's ? = 0.98, ICC = 0.90; 95' CI 0.82-0.94). Factor analysis suggested 2 relevant factors. A significantly higher FES-I score was associated with patients with early-stage dementia who were older (p = 0.003) or female (p = 0.001), lived alone (p = 0.0001), spent >8 h a day alone (p = 0.032), used mobility aids (p < 0.0001), or had severe hearing (p = 0.004) or vision impairment (p < 0.0001) or a lower education (r = -0.16, p = 0.007). Conclusion:The Czech version of the FES-I had very good reliability and validity and may be useful in future cross-cultural comparisons in research among patients with early-stage dementia.

SUBMITTER: Kisvetrova H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6787430 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature