Reliability of HOME FAST BRAZIL-Self-Reported Version for Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Karina Stella Aoki Ferreira,Natacha Verônica Bazanella,Tamires Terezinha Gallo Da Silva,Audrin Said Vojciechowski,Jarbas Melo Filho,Anna Raquel Silveira Gomes,Lynette Mackenzie

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.713202

Abstract

Objective: Verify the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the HOME FAST BRAZIL—Self-reported version and correlate household environmental risks with the history of falls by community-dwelling older adults.Method: Cross sectional study with 50 community-dwelling older adults who were screened by the cut-off point of the Mini Mental State Exam and replied to the HOME FAST BRAZIL—Self-reported version using two evaluators, on three occasions. The reliability analysis was determined by the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), considering ICC > 0.70 as adequate. To test the correlations, the Spearman test was used.Results: The mean age of the participants was 73.2 ± 5.8 years. The inter- rater reliability of HOME FAST BRAZIL—Self-reported version was ICC 0.83 (IC95%, 0.70–0.90) and the Intra- reliability ICC 0.85 (IC95%, 0.74–0.91). A risk of falls was verified in 88% of the sample and four environmental risks presented significant correlations with the history of falls.Conclusions: The HOME FAST BRAZIL—Self-reported version presented adequate reliability for the evaluation of household environmental risks for community-dwelling older adults. Risks such as inadequate armchairs/ sofas, the absence of anti-slip mats in the shower recess, the presence of pets and inadequate beds require attention in the evaluation of household risks, due to their correlation with the occurrence of falls.

Highlights

Falls are common events amongst the community-dwelling older adults, and can cause injuries and fractures leading to a decline in functional capacity, compromising independence and causing considerable health costs [1,2,3,4]
Seventy-three community-dwelling older adults were invited to participate in the research, of which 17 refused due to a lack of availability
The scores obtained for the HOME FAST BRAZIL-SR at the three evaluation occasions were: evaluator 1 (9.9 ± 2.4); evaluator 2 (10.6 ± 2.5); evaluator 1 after 7 days (10.2 ± 2.3)

Summary

Introduction

Falls are common events amongst the community-dwelling older adults, and can cause injuries and fractures leading to a decline in functional capacity, compromising independence and causing considerable health costs [1,2,3,4]. The etiology of falls is multifactorial, resulting from the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic factors, the risk increasing linearly with the number of factors which older adults are exposed to Moreira et al [5] and Phelan et al [6]. The environmental risks present in the households of the older adults are linked to the occurrence of falls [1, 7]. Studies have confirmed the effectiveness of household environmental interventions in the reduction of falls by the community-dwelling older adults, and verified that the use of valid instruments that identify environmental risks and circumstances in a standardized way, is one of the fundamental aspects for the prevention of falls [10, 11]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion