Psychometric evaluation of the elderly mobility scale in Indonesia

•Cross-culturally adapt EMS for effective mobility screening in Indonesia.•EMS-I shows high validity and reliability; further test-retest is needed.•Assessing mobility status helps older adults maintain their health. The Elderly Mobility Scale (EMS) is widely used to identify mobility limitations in older adults, though it has not been validated in Indonesia. To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Indonesian version of the EMS (EMS-I). A cross-sectional design involving 230 older adults in South Tangerang City, Indonesia, was used. The EMS was translated and culturally adapted following a multistage process. Psychometric testing included content validity, exploratory, and confirmatory factor analysis. The participants had a mean age of 70, with 65.7 % female. Results demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .942) and item content validity index (I-CVI > .75). Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure, with confirmatory factor analysis supporting a good model fit. The EMS-I shows high reliability and validity, enabling healthcare professionals to monitor mobility status and facilitate targeted interventions for enhancing well-being in community-dwelling older adults in Indonesia.