Interobserver reproducibility of the Berg Balance Scale by novice and experienced physiotherapists

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the interobserver reliability of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), which consists of 14 items that evaluate body balance during daily activities. The assessment was made by physiotherapists with extensive or little clinical experience in noninstitutionalized elderly individuals. Participants comprised 12 elderly subjects (10 women and 2 men) with mean ages of 75.8+/-8.4 years (range=63-87) and 18 physiotherapists with varying clinical experience. Interexaminer reliability obtained for each scale item yielded weighted kappa value >0.75 in 11 of the 14 items (varying from 0.37 to 1.0). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the total sum of BBS scores between the two groups of physiotherapists was 0.996 (95% confidence interval, 0.987-0.999) with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.996. We found no statistically significant difference between the rater groups when we compared the sum score means obtained with Student's t-test (p=0.86). Although some items had low reliability values, in general our results suggest that the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the BBS showed acceptable levels of interrater reliability and agreement when used by physiotherapists with different clinical practice levels and without previous training on noninstitutionalized elderly patients.

Influence of Educational Status on Executive Function and Functional Balance in Individuals with Parkinson Disease

“…Other studies associated performance on executive function tests, such as the TMT, with performance on locomotion tasks in healthy elderly people 18,19 and patients with PD. 44 Previous studies have established relationships between PD and executive function 39 ; PD, executive function, and LES 36 ; PD, executive function, and motor control [40][41][42][43] ; and executive function, LES, and motor control. 16,20 Voos, Custo´dio, and Malaquias 6 showed that in healthy elderly people, both poor executive function performance (assessed by the TMT) and LES (assessed by self-reported years of formal education) may be related to lower functional balance scores on the Berg Balance Scale (BBS).…”

Do functional mobility tests predict the risk of falls in community-dwelling elderly?

“…Studies point to a Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.62 to 0.98; Sensitivity between 42% and 97%; Specificity between 26% and 92%; Cut point between 45 and 50 points (10,13,30,31,32,33,34,35,30,36,37,38,39) . Despite presenting a high alpha of Cronbach indicating a good internal consistency, as well as a good association between item-factor and the other factors, this does not guarantee a good internal consistency in the measurement of the postural control construct.…”

Confiabilidad en la medición de la presión inspiratoria máxima y de la capacidad inspiratoria de un fisioterapeuta en entrenamiento

“…A limitation of this study is that there is no record of a learning protocol for MIP and IC tests. This may be a good future option to complement the process through the application of an evaluation with a checklist to be applied to NPs 32 , in order to corroborate the optimal acquisition of technical and interpretative skills. Such evaluation tool should emphasize variables that influence patient commitment to the test, such as the ability to truly detect efforts, distraction, or lack of motivation in patients.…”