Psychometric Properties of Strength and Cardiovascular Endurance Items of The Persian Version of Functional Fitness Assessment Test in the Iranian Elderly

 The present research was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of Persian version of strength and cardiovascular endurance items of functional fitness assessment test in Iranian elderly.

Methods & Materials:

 The statistical sample consisted of 200 elderly (100 males and 100 females) with mean aged 68.05±5.21 years old that were selected by random cluster sampling in Tehran city. The tools used included strength and cardiovascular endurance items of Functional Fitness Assessment test for adults over 60 years (FFAA). Content, structure and concurrent methods was used to evaluate validity. For evaluation of concurrent validity, the hand grip and treadmill tools were used. In order to assess the reliability, the temporal and internal consistency methods were used.

 The results showed that the content validity of strength and cardiovascular endurance items were confirmed (90%-95%). Results of construct validity showed that the Pearson correlation coefficient between age with strength and cardiovascular endurance items is meaningful significant (0.71-0.75). Results of Pearson correlation coefficient test showed that the correlation between strength and cardiovascular endurance items and laboratory tests related to each of them were obtained for high levels (0.90-0.96). Therefore, the correlation obtained indicates the concurrent validity of this test items. Also, results showed that the test-retest interclass correlation test with a one-week interval, indicate that the temporal stability is acceptable (0.81-0.85). Furthermore, the results of Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient showed that the internal consistency of each item was acceptable (α>0.75).

 Results indicate that the strength and cardiovascular endurance items in elderly sample are valid and reliable, and the Persian version of these items can be used to assess the functional fitness among Iranian elderly people.