Reliability and Validity of Turkish Version of The Brief-BESTest in Stroke Patients

The Brief-BESTest is the short version of the BESTest used to evaluate balance and fall risk in a multiple disease populations. The clinicians need practical, short application scales to evaluate the risk of falling, balance and rehabilitation results.

This study aims to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Brief-BESTest (Brief-BESTest-T) in stroke patients.

This study included a total of 40 subacute and chronic stroke patients (mean age of 60.28 ± 9.96 years). The Brief-BESTest, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Functional Reach Test (FRT), Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) and 10 m walking test were applied to the patients.

A strong correlation was observed between the1st and 2nd evaluation Brief-BESTest-T total scores (r = 0.933). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was excellent. According to the correlation analysis performed to test the inter-rater reliability, a very high correlation (r = 0.906) was observed between the Brief-BESTest-T total scores. A high correlation was found between the Brief-BESTest-T and BBS and TUG, while a moderate correlation was found between the FRT, FES, and 10 m walking test. The clinical cut-off point for the Brief-BESTest - T was determined to be 9 points with an AUC of 0.872. There were no floor and ceiling effects found.

This study showed that the Brief-BESTest-T had excellent internal consistency, intra-rater, and inter-rater reliability. Its concurrent, discriminant, and known-groups validity were also good and had no substantial floor and ceiling effects.