Usefulness of the Subjective Risk Rating of Specific Tasks for Falls in Frail Elderly People

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and clinical usefulness of a subjective risk rating of specific tasks (SRRST) for assessing risks of falls in frail elderly people. The participants were 30 elderly individuals who utilized day-care services. [Subjects and Methods] Participants were investigated the SRRST, grip strength, one repetition maximum of leg-press machine (1RM), one-leg standing time (OLS), functional reach, timed up and go test (TUG), and 10 m-walking speed, Barthel index, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology index, and history of falls in the previous year. The SRRST is comprised of 7 dichotomous questions screening of fall risk during activities of daily living such as walking, transferring, and wandering, and was scored twice a week by four raters. [Results] Intra-rater reliabilities of the SRRST were high (ICC (1,1) = 0.727 to 0.914, ICC (1,2) = 0.842 to 0.955), and inter-rater reliabilities of the SRRST were moderate to high (ICC (2,1) = 0.513, ICC (2,4) = 0.808). In comparison to the non-faller group, the faller group showed significantly lower 1RM and higher the SRRST. The SRRST showed moderate correlations with the OLS and TUG. [Conclusion] The SRRST showed moderate to high reliability and concurrent validity for assessing the fall risks in frail elderly people.