Cross-cultural adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale (Icon-FES) among elderly Brazilians

• Grant number: 15/23884-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal researcher: Marcia Rodrigues Franco Zambelli
• Grantee: Bianca Yumie Eto
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Falls have been considered a public health concern worldwide, contributing to high rates of disability and mortality. Around 30% of the older population fall each year. One of the factors than can cause or that can be a consequence of falling is the fear of falling. The Falls Efficacy Scale - International (FES-I) has been considered the best scale to evaluate the fear of falling. Recently, a group of Australian researchers, who are collaborators of this project, developed the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale (Icon-FES), a scale that evaluates the fear of falling in an innovative way, using pictures as visual cues to provide more complete environmental contexts. The scale includes a broad range of activities, and the use of pictures to match the verbal descriptions is likely to facilitate older people´s understanding of the different everyday situations that predisposes to falls. Previous studies have shown that the Icon-FES has excellent psychometric properties and moderate correlation with the FES-I. The advantages of the Icon-FES upon the FES-I includes the inclusion of activities that challenges more the balance, the ability to assess fear of falling in high functioning older people, and data with normal distribution. Therefore, the objective of this study is to perform a cross-cultural adaptation and to assess the psychometric properties of the Icon-FES in a community-dwelling Brazilian older population. The cross-cultural adaptation of the Icon-FES to the Brazilian context will allow the comparison among studies at an international level.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FRANCO, MARCIA RODRIGUES; PINTO, RAFAEL ZAMBELLI; DELBAERE, KIM; ETO, BIANCA YUMIE; FARIA, MAIRA SGOBBI; AOYAGI, GIOVANA AYUMI; STEFFENS, DANIEL; PASTRE, CARLOS MARCELO. Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties testing of the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale (Icon-FES). BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, v. 22, n. 4, p. 291-303, JUL-AUG 2018. Web of Science Citations: 0.