Geriatrics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Geriatrics, including details on old age, psychiatry, depression, medicine.

Geriatric fear of falling measure: development and psychometric testing.

Huang TT

Chang Gung University, School of Nursing, 259 Wen-Hwa 1st Road, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, ROC. thuang@mail.cgu.edu.tw

Development of the geriatric fear of falling measure (GFFM) was based on a previous qualitative study of Taiwanese community-dwelling elders. Relevant parameters or items for assessing subscales were identified and tested in a three-stage process: item development, content validity testing and reliability testing. The GFFM was tested on two groups of community-dwelling elders in Taiwan (N=100 and 384) to examine validity and reliability. Good test-retest, internal consistency and inter-rater reliability were found. Confirmatory factor analysis and good overall model fits supported construct validity of the GFFM. Although these data are preliminary, the GFFM could be used as a quick screening instrument to evaluate fear of falling and an outcome indicator of nursing interventions.

Published 13 February 2006 in Int J Nurs Stud, 43(3): 357-65.
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