ABSTRACT
Falling is a common problem among the elderly. Falling indoors and outdoors is highly prevalent among the Iranian elderly. Therefore, identification of the contributing factors at home and their modification can reduce falls and subsequent injuries in the elderly. The goal of this study was to identify the elderly at risk of fall, using the 'Home Falls and Accident Screening Tool' [HOME FAST], and to determine the reliability of this tool. Sixty old people were selected from five geographical regions of Tehran through the Local Town Councils. Participants were aged 60 to 65 years, and HOME FAST was used to assess inter rater and test-retest reliability. Test-retest reliability in the study showed that agreement between the items of the Persian version of HOME FAST was over 0.8, which is a very good reliability. The agreement between the domains was 0.65-1.00, indicative of moderate to high reliability. Moreover, the Inter rater reliability of the items was over 0.8, which is also very good. The correlation of each item between the domains was 0.01-1.00, which shows poor to high reliability. This study showed that the reliability of the Persian version of HOME FAST is high. This tool can therefore be used as an appropriate screening tool by professionals to take necessary preventive measures for the Iranian elderly population
ABSTRACT
Low Back Pain [LBP] is still a medical problem in 21[st] century. Having back pain and being disabled by it are not the same thing. It is common to come across with patients who have simple back pain but surprisingly totally disabled and vice versa. In clinical practice, it is important to have a proper evaluation of disability and making a clear distinction between pain and disability. During the past two decades several self-report measures and questionnaires have been developed to evaluate disability in LBP patients, however most of these questionnaire were designed in English language and based on European or American studies. The aim of these questionnaires were designed in English language and based on European or American Studies. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a translated and culturally adapt "Pain Disability Index [PDI]" and "Pain Disability Questionnaire [PDQ]" among Iranian patients with loc back pain. The Persian versions of the PDI, PDQ were created through systematic translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original questionnaires. The Oswestry Disability Index and visual Analogue Scale were used for validation studies. Patients were asked to complete these questionnaires initially and also at 7 days later as retest. A total of 304 patients with acute and chronic LBP completed the Persian versions of PDI, PDQ, "Oswestry Disability Index" [ODI] and "Visual Analogue Scale" [VAS]. Among patients 111 patients participated for retest after seven days. The Cronbach's alpha [coefficient of reliability] for the PDI and PDQ was satisfactory. The PDI and PDQ showed high and very high test-retest reliability [ICC=0.8 and 0.92 respectively]. The Pearson correlation coefficient among PDI, PDQ with ODI was 0.64 and 0.72, and for PDI, PDQ, ODI with VAS was 0.36, 0.47 and 0.57, respectively [P<0.001]. The Persian version of the PDI and PDQ questionnaire are reliable and valid instruments to evaluate generic perceived disability in Persian-speaking patients with LBP. It is shown that PDI and PDQ are capable of measuring the disability in LBP patients. They could be used in clinical and research encounters with acceptable confidence