Reliability and validity of a steadiness score.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the internal consistency and construct and predictive validity of three survey questions regarding steadiness in a sample of community-dwelling lower-income older adults.


METHODS
A 6-month prospective cohort study.


METHODS
Community-based.


METHODS
Three hundred fifty-seven older adults who completed a baseline and 6-month follow-up interviewer-administered survey. These older adults received care at a single, public health system and were judged by insurance status to be of low income.


METHODS
Self-report measures of steadiness while walking and transferring; difficulty in mobility, activities of daily living (ADLs), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs); chronic illness; falls; hospitalization; and sociodemographic characteristics.


RESULTS
The three steadiness questions showed good internal consistency (0.88); construct validity in Pearson correlations with mobility (0.57), ADL (0.53), and IADL scores (0.41); and predictive validity. With regard to predictive validity, steadiness was predictive of falls, hospitalization, and decline in ADL and IADL function over a subsequent 6-month period.


CONCLUSIONS
Steadiness questions are a potentially valuable addition to survey research and clinical screening to identify persons with current impairment status and falls and disability risk.
Clark
Daniel O
DO
Indiana University Center for Aging Research, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. dclark@regenstrief.org
Callahan
Christopher M
CM
Counsell
Steven R
SR
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology; D011187:Posture; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors