Background/Purpose: Older adult fall risk assessments often fail to address environmental factors associated with falls during activities of daily living. A Functional Obstacle Course, composed of common fall risk obstacles, has the potential to address these factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the construct validity and reliability of the Modified Functional Obstacle Course (MFOC) and to examine the instrument's intra-obstacle correlation and factor loading.
Method: Participants (n = 63; mean age = 73.3 yrs, SD =5.02) performed a single series of three randomized fall-risk assessments: Activity Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC); Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and the Tinetti Balance Test (TBT) and the new Modified Functional Obstacle Course (MFOC). Construct validity was determined by correlating MFOC performance to the ABC, DGI and TBT scores. Cronbach's Alpha was calculated as a measure of internal consistency for the MFOC. Thirty participants from the original sample were retested on the MFOC to determine test-retest reliability. A principal component analysis was conducted to examine intra-obstacle factors.
Analysis/Results: The MFOC demonstrated moderate to high Pearson correlations of .76 , .76 & .75, p < .05 with the ABC, DGI and TBT, respectively and high test re-test reliability, r(30) = .99, p < .05 with Cronbach's α= .99. Principal component analysis demonstrated five distinct intra-obstacle factors within the MFOC (oculo-vestibular, self-efficacy, dynamic movement, surface tasks, and object manipulation), accounting for 78% of the variance
Conclusions: The MFOC is a valid fall risk measure with high internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
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