Reproducibility and validity of a new scale “Rhombus Test” to assess dynamic balance function among elderly women with care needs

Abstract

This study aims to verify the reproducibility and validity of a new scale, Rhombus Test (RT), to assess the dynamic balance function among the elderly women with care needs. The RT and following physical performance indices were implemented among 29 elderly women: one-leg standing time, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), 5-m fastest walking time, and 30-sec chair stand test (CS-30). To test the reproducibility of the RT, 20 participants performed the RT twice on the same day. The intra-class correlation coefficients were >0.9, suggesting the excellent reproducibility of the RT. Moderate significant correlation coefficients ranging from 0.42–0.59 were obtained for the RT and four physical performance indices (one-leg standing time, TUG, 5-m fastest walking speed, and CS-30). These results suggest that the RT has high reproducibility and validity. In conclusion, the RT is considered suitable for the evaluation of the dynamic balance function in the elderly women with care needs.