Adapted - Falls Efficacy Scale- International (English)[1]

 

Administration Guidelines

 This assessment to be completed alongside the initialfalls assessment for each service user.

• It is to be completed on the second visit as this reduced response bias.

• It is to be re-administered at the end of the intervention to note changes in an individual's feelings about falling.

• When you complete the re-assessment do not take the first assessment in order to reduce bias.

• This is not a care giver questionnaire but to be carried out with the service user. However, access to a carer who knows the service user well is highly beneficial in order to bench mark the level of understanding gained.

• This assessment is to be completed with all service users where at all possible. Namely attempts should be made to maximise someone's potential to participate.

• Exclusion criteria:  An individual with severe or profound LD / An individual who refuses to take part when the assessment when it is explained 

• Please ensure that you document who you carry out the falls assessments and Self Efficacy Scale with by informing your locally designated representative.

• Intervention summary prompt. This is not conclusive please add details where possible.

 

What you need for the assessment:

 

• A copy of the efficacy scale

• A Copy of the card prompts for describing a fall and detailing the activities in the questions

• A card prompt for the answers

• Information about a service users communication needs and carer support.

 

When asking the questions:

 

• Make sure you read out the information detailing the assessment before asking the questions

• Stick to the question as closely as possible, but if adding concrete examples helps with some questions – e.g. question 16, you could say how do you feel when you go out to Gateway Club (or whichever social event the person attends)

• When asking for response ask “how do you feel about……” rather than asking how worried people are, as this may bias the result

• If the person no longer carries carry out the activity, ask them how they would feel if they were to do it now. E.g. how do you feel when you are going up or down stairs, you could ask the person how would they feel now if they had to do it.

• If the person can only say ‘worried or not worried’ try to probe to find out more – e.g. really not worried or a little worried?

• If someone is unable to answer the question despite your best efforts deduct 4 points from overall total – e.g. one question not answered would reduce the overall ‘out of’ score to 60, 2 not answered to 56 etc.

• You can use your own contextual photos (e.g. in patient units) to aid communication as long as the subsequent answer is not led by these.

• Record as much as possible about the response, non-verbal, understanding, process itself, own feelings etc in the comments section.

 

 

NB: It is hoped that this assessment will change the focus of our intervention in order to be as person centred as possible so please use this to identify service user priorities and allow it to influence your intervention.

 

 

• Please send Rio number for each person you do falls work with, and note whether FES was completed, or if not completed the reason for this, to Helen Tustian (OT Technical Instructor – North Team).

• Ensure your falls assessment and FES is uploaded onto Rio.

 

 

 

 

Adapted - Falls Efficacy Scale- International (English)[2]

 

I would like to ask some questions about how you feel about falling in each of the following activities (use pictorial prompts). Tick the box that the service user highlights.  Please tell me about how you usually do the activity. If you currently don’t do the activity (example: if someone does your shopping for you), please answer to show how you think you would feel about falling IF you did the activity.

 

 

 

 

 

[1]Adapted from: Yardley, L., Beyer, N., Hauer, K., Kempen, G., Piot-Ziegler, C., & Todd, C. (2005).Development and initial validation of the Falls Efficacy Scale- International (FES-I).Age and Ageing, 34(6), 614-619. doi:10.1093/ageing/afi1

 

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