title: The Walking Speed Questionnaire: Assessing Walking Speed in a Self-reported Format.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The literature increasingly demonstrates the importance of gait speed (GS) in the frailty assessment of patients aged 60 years and older. Conventional GS measurement, however, maybe contraindicated in settings such as trauma where the patient is temporarily immobilized. We devised a Walking Speed Questionnaire (WSQ) to allow assessment of preinjury baseline GS, in meters per second, in a self-reported manner, to overcome the inability to directly test the patients' walking speed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four questions comprise the WSQ, and were derived using previously published questionnaires and expert opinion of 6 physician-researchers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four ambulatory clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ambulating individuals aged 60-95 (mean age, 73.2 ± 8.1 years, 86.1% female, n = 101).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed the WSQ and underwent GS measurement for comparison.
  
  
  METHODS
  WSQ score correlation to true GS, receiver operating characteristics, and validation statistics were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 4 questions of the WSQ independently predicted true GS significantly (P < 0.001). The WSQ sufficiently predicted true GS with r = 0.696 and ρ = 0.717.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The WSQ is an effective tool for assessing baseline walking speed in patients aged 60 years and older in a self-reported manner. It permits gait screening in health care environments where conventional GS testing is contraindicated due to temporary immobilization and maybe used to provide baseline targets for goal-oriented post-trauma care. Given its ability to capture GS in patients who are unable to ambulate, it may open doors for frailty research in previously unattainable populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diagnostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
authors.affiliation: *Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; †Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY; ‡State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY; and §Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
authors.forename: Guang-Ting
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.forename: Jordan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.forename: Lewis J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Kerwin
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Xiu Zhen
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Christos
authors.forename: Ayelet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evrony
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lane
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016330:Frail Elderly; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology*