The minimal important change for measures of balance and postural control in older adults: a systematic review

The minimal important change and analogous terms (MIC) can provide a measure of change in health outcome variables that is associated with a level of importance for participant/patient. This review explores the availability of the MIC for different balance measures used with older adults in research and clinical settings. PubMed, ProQuest and Web of Science search engines were used and based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 studies were deemed suitable for data extraction and analysis. The results demonstrated that MIC is available for the following balance-associated tests: Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go, Short Physical Performance Battery, BESTest and the Tinetti test. A range of MIC values were shown, reflective of different older adult health conditions, calculation methods and anchors used. It was also evident that the responsiveness of the test was not always available or appropriately determined, questioning the validity of the MIC value published. Greater research is needed to establish MIC for balance measurements for use with older adults with different health conditions, preferably using objective measures such as falls. The calculation of such statistics will improve the evaluation of intervention effectiveness.