Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Design and Analysis for Fall Detection System Simplification
Published on: April 6, 2020
Assessing subjective fall concerns in residential living seniors: development of the activities-specific fall caution
Nancy J Pearce1, Anita M Myers, Robin A Blanchard
1Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
Objectives:
To examine subjective fall concerns of seniors in residential care and to develop a tool applicable to both nursing home and assisted living settings.
Design:
Used focus groups with residents and staff for construct examination and item generation; surveyed staff and interviewed residents for item verification; and conducted psychometric testing using Rasch analysis for scale refinement.
Setting:
Seventeen residential care facilities in Ontario, Canada.
Participants:
Convenience samples totaling 57 staff and 234 residents.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure:
The Activities-specific Fall Caution (AFC) Scale, developed inductively with residents and staff, with items pertaining to residential living (eg, moving around a room full of people, furniture, or walkers).
Results:
Resident terms (being cautious or careful) and qualifications (whether alone and proximity of gait aids) guided tool development. Rasch analysis showed that the final 13-item AFC Scale was hierarchic and unidimensional, with good person (.86) and item (.95) reliability.
Conclusions:
The AFC scale is a promising new tool for assessing subjective fall concerns in residential care residents. This tool can be administered via interview in about 10 minutes to most residents with Mini-Mental State Examination scores of 12 or greater, using practice questions to determine understanding and a 4-point color response card similar to a traffic light to facilitate responding.
