Psychometric properties of the Arabic Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale in people with multiple sclerosis: Reliability, validity, and minimal detectable change.

BACKGROUND

Balance and gait impairments are common disorders in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC) is one of the important measures of balance confidence that can be used in people with MS. The Arabic version of the ABC was developed and validated in other than MS population.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the psychometric properties of the Arabic Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (A-ABC) among patients with MS.

METHODS

A multicenter, reliability design was used to administer the A-ABC to a convenience sample of people with MS. The test-retest reliability of the A-ABC item and total scores were examined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Additionally, the validity of the A-ABC with Arabic Berg Balance Scale (A-BBS), Arabic Dynamic Gait Index (A-DGI), and Barthel Index (BI) was assessed using Spearman Correlation Coefficient (r). Moreover, the minimal detectable change for the A-ABC was established in people with MS.

RESULTS

Eighty nine patients with MS (mean [SD] age = 38 [10]; female = 58) were enrolled. The internal consistency of the A-ABC was 0.96 while the minimal detectable change was 11.28. The A-ABC (mean [SD] = 61 [29]) had significant correlations with A-BBS (r = 0.76, P < 0.05), A-DGI (r = 0.65, P < 0.05), BI (r = 0.63, P < 0.05), and age (r = -0.37, P < 0.05). Fifty-two patients (58%) completed the A-ABC twice with one week interval. Excellent test-retest reliability of the A-ABC item (ICC≥0.90) and total scores [ICC = 0.98; 95% CI (0.96-0.99)] was found.

CONCLUSIONS

The Arabic Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale showed very good psychometric properties and can be utilized with Arabic-speaking patients with multiple sclerosis.