Development and validation of the balance outcome measure for elder rehabilitation

Objective: To develop and investigate the internal consistency, criterion-related validation, and minimum clinically significant difference of a new standing balance outcome measure for Elder Rehabilitation. Design: Three phases: (1) cross-sectional survey with expert panel, (2) multicenter prospective cohort randomly divided into development and validation datasets, and (3) prospective cohort (single site). Setting: Geriatric and rehabilitation units across 2 states in Australia. Participants: A total of 1769 admissions across 17 geriatric assessment and rehabilitation units. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The Balance Outcome Measure for Elder Rehabilitation (BOOMER) consisted of the step test, Timed Up & Go test, Functional Reach Test, and static standing with feet together and eyes closed test. Criterion-related validity was established through comparison to the Modified Elderly Mobility Scale (MEMS) and the FIM motor score. Results: Items of the BOOMER were already used at a majority of rehabilitation facilities surveyed. The BOOMER showed high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha>.87) and had good correlation with the FIM motor and the MEMS (rho>.72). The minimum clinically significant change in the BOOMER was 3 points over a 17-point scale range. Conclusions: The BOOMER is a clinically applicable measure of standing balance among older rehabilitation.