Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool among Aged People

It is crucial to identify aged patients in risk of falls in clinical settings. Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT) is one of most applied international instrument to assess elderly patients for the risk of falls. The aim of this study was to evaluate reliability and internal consistency of the JHFRAT.
Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study for validity assessment of the tool, WHO’s standard protocol was applied for translation-back translation of the tool. Face and content validity of the tool was confirmed by ten person of expert faculty members for its applicability in clinical setting. In this pilot study, the inclusion criteria were being 60 or more years old, hospitalized in the last 8 hours prior to assessment and in proper cognitive condition assessed by MMSE. Subjects of the study were (n=70) elderly patients who were newly hospitalized in Shahroud Emam Hossein Hospital. Data were analyzed using SPSS software- version 16. Internal consistency of the tool was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha.
According to the results of the study Persian version of JHFRAT was a valid tool for application on clinical setting. The Persian version of the tool had Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0/733.
Based on the findings of the current study, it can be concluded that Persian version of the JHFRAT is a valid and reliable tool to be applied for assessment of elderly senior citizens on admission in any clinical settings.