title: Validity of the Sitting Balance Scale in older adults who are non-ambulatory or have limited functional mobility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the Sitting Balance Scale is an acceptable alternative to the Trunk Impairment Scale for measuring the construct of sitting balance, to examine relationships with other clinical outcomes and to establish discriminative validity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective descriptive methodological study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility and home health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients receiving physical therapy (N = 98; n = 20 acute care, n = 18 inpatient rehabilitation, n = 30 skilled nursing facility, n = 30 home setting) mean (SD) age, 80.5 (7.9) years. Nineteen were non-ambulatory and 79 had limited functional mobility with Timed Up and Go scores ≥20 seconds.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sitting Balance Scale, Trunk Impairment Scale, Timed Up and Go, length of stay and setting specific clinical measures of sitting balance (OASIS-C M1850; MDS G-3b).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moderate association between ambulatory status and sitting balance measures (Sitting Balance Scale r = 0.67, Trunk Impairment Scale r = 0.61; P = 0.0001). Moderate to strong relationships between Sitting Balance Scale, Trunk Impairment Scale and clinical outcomes varying by setting. MANOVA results revealed differences between ambulators and non-ambulators and among diagnostic categories for both instruments (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Sitting Balance Scale is comparable to the Trunk Impairment Scale for measuring sitting balance in older adults who are non-ambulatory or have limited mobility.
authors: School of Physical Therapy, Texas Woman's University, Dallas, TX, USA. mthompson@twu.edu
authors: Mary
authors: M
authors: Thompson
authors: Ann
authors: A
authors: Medley
authors: Steve
authors: S
authors: Teran
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D060726:Torso / Q000503:physiopathology