TRANSLATION, CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF URDU VERSION OF FALLS EFFICACY SCALE- INTERNATIONAL IN COMMUNITY DWELLING OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Background and Aim: The Fear of Falling Scale (FES-I) was created to investigate people's concerns of falling. It has 16 elements that should be translated into comprehensible Language to avoid misperceptions. The purpose of this research was to provide an Urdu translation of the fall's effectiveness scale-International and evaluate its psychometric characteristics. Methodology: The FES-I was translated using Beaton standards. A final FES-I was produced once forward and backward translations were completed. Adults aged 60 and up from the community of Lahore's old houses were recruited. Internal consistency and test re-test reliability were evaluated. The Urdu version of the FES-I was compared to the Berg Balance Scale and the Time Up and Go Test to determine its validity. Results: With 100 respondents, the Urdu – FES-I shows a good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.989). With a Cronbach's alpha score of 0.989, FES-I-U has high internal consistency. The construct validity between the FES-I-U and Time Up and Go revealed a good positive correlation when Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated. There is a substantial negative correlation between the FES-I-U and the Berg Balance Scale. Conclusion: The FES-I in Urdu is a clear, valid, and reliable instrument for measuring fear of falling among older Pakistani community.