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Development of a Parkinson's disease specific falls questionnaire
Dale M Harris1,2, Rachel L Duckham3,4,5, Robin M Daly3
1Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia. dale.harris36@outlook.com.
BMC Geriatrics
|October 31, 2021
Summary
A new Parkinson
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Geriatrics
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Falls pose a significant health risk for older adults with Parkinson's disease (PD).
- Existing tools lack specificity for capturing fall details in PD patients.
- There is a need for a reliable questionnaire tailored to PD falls.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel Parkinson's disease-specific falls questionnaire (PDF-Q).
- To assess the test-retest reliability of the developed PDF-Q in older adults with PD.
Main Methods:
- A PD-specific falls questionnaire (PDF-Q) was created, considering expert input and existing fall questionnaires.
- The PDF-Q was administered in online and paper formats to 46 older adults with PD.
- Participants completed the questionnaire twice, 4 weeks apart, with Kappa statistics used for reliability analysis.
Main Results:
- The PDF-Q demonstrated strong to almost perfect reliability for fall and near-fall location (κ=0.89-1.0).
- Reliability for indoor/outdoor fall counts was moderate to strong (κ=0.75-0.86).
- Agreement for the number of falls/near-falls was weak (κ=0.41-0.51), while circumstances like direction and activity showed moderate to strong agreement.
Conclusions:
- The newly developed Parkinson's disease-specific falls questionnaire (PDF-Q) is reliable.
- The PDF-Q effectively captures the circumstances and consequences of recent falls and near-falls in older adults with PD.
