Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of the Self-rated Fall Risk Questionnaire for Iranian Older Adults

Background and Objectives Identification of the risk factors for falls to prevent the risk of fall and reduce the related costs in older adults is necessary. This study aims to translate and determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the self-rated fall risk questionnaire (FRQ) for Iranian older adults. Methods In this methodological study, participants were 60 older people who were selected from the Retirement Center in Qom, Iran in 2021 using a convenience sampling method. For translation, the backward/forward technique was used. Then, content validity, face validity, and construct validity were evaluated. To evaluate the construct validity, the known-groups validity (comparsion of groups with and without a history of fall), convergent and divergent validity were used. Reliability was determined by assessing internal consistency. Results The results of known-groups comparison showed that the mean score of FRQ in older people with a history of fall was higher than in older people without a history of fall. The significant correlation of the score of FRQ with the scores of timed up & go test (r= 0.428, P<0.001), and 30-second chair stand test (r=-0.333, P<0.01) confirmed the convergent and divergent validity, respectively. The Kuder-Richardson coefficient (0.624) confirmed the internal consistency of the Persian FRQ. Conclusion The Persian version of the self-rated FRQ has satisfactory psychometric properties. It can be used to measure the risk factors of fall in fall prevention interventions for Iranian older adults.