Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Objective: To develop and evaluate the initial psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Falls Efficacy Scale (MdFES). Methods: Stage 1 involved content development and validation through literature review and expert consensus. Stage 2 included psychometric testing with 179 older adults. Analyses included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), internal consistency, construct validity, and ROC analysis for clinical cut-offs. Results: EFA supported a two-factor structure, explaining 65.4% of the variance. The MdFES showed good internal consistency (α = 0.84). Construct validity was supported by moderate correlations with the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ρ = 0.51), the Balance Recovery Confidence scale (ρ = 0.67), and a negative correlation with the Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (ρ = -0.46). ROC analyses demonstrated moderate discriminative ability for identifying fallers (AUC = 0.65), high concerns about falling (AUC = 0.73), and poor balance (AUC = 0.71). A cut-off score of ≤13 balanced sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: The MdFES is a brief, valid instrument capturing the multidimensional nature of falls efficacy. It may support clinical screening and guide targeted intervention. Further research is needed to elucidate the value of the MdFES.
DOI: 10.22540/jfsf-10-241
Authors: Shawn Leng Hsien Soh, Henry Fee Siang Koh, Dorothy Hong Yu Ng, Jillian Rui Ci Ong, Yew Long Ong, Xin Yi Lim, Mohamad Irfan Syafiq Bin Mohamad Khizar, Jiaying Ho, Hazel Xu Teng Ting, Wenshan Yang, Cheryl Yan Fang Tan
Language: English
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $161
OpenAlex ID: W4416829498