The modified Gait Abnormality Rating Scale for recognizing the risk of recurrent falls in community-dwelling elderly adults.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of measurements obtained with a seven-item modified version of the Gait Abnormality Rating Scale (GARS-M), an assessment of gait designed to predict risk of falling among community-dwelling, frail older persons.


METHODS
Fifty-two community-dwelling, frail older persons, with a mean age of 74.8 years (SD = 6.75), participated.


METHODS
A history of falls was determined from self-report or by proxy report. The GARS-M was scored from videotapes of subjects walking at self-selected paces. Gait characteristics were recorded during a timed walk on a 6-m brown-paper walkway.


RESULTS
Scores obtained by three raters for 23 subjects demonstrated moderate to substantial intrarater and interrater reliability. Concurrent validity, as assessed by Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients, was demonstrated for the relationship between GARS-M scores and stride length (r = -.754) and for the relationship between GARS-M scores and walking speed (r = -.679). Mean GARS-M scores distinguished between frail older persons with and without a history of recurrent falls (mean GARS-M scores of 9.0 and 3.8, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The GARS-M is a reliable and valid measure for documenting gait features associated with an increased risk of falling among community-dwelling, frail older persons and may provide a clinically useful alternative to established quantitative gait-assessment methods.
VanSwearingen
J M
JM
Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. jessievs+@pitt.edu
Paschal
K A
KA
Bonino
P
P
Yang
J F
JF
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016330:Frail Elderly; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012306:Risk