Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale questionnaire (Icon- FES)

Abstract

Falls have been considered a public health concern worldwide, contributing to high rates of disability and mortality. 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 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 assess the psychometric properties of the Icon-FES in a community-dwelling Brazilian older population. (AU)