Further Validation of the Balance Outcome Measure for Elder Rehabilitation

Abstract Kuys SS, Morrison G, Bew PG, Clarke J, Haines TP. Further validation of the Balance Outcome Measure for Elder Rehabilitation. Objective To determine the concurrent validity of the Balance Outcome Measure for Elder Rehabilitation (BOOMER) with both the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and gait speed. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Two geriatric rehabilitation units. Participants Elderly adults (N=134) admitted to inpatient rehabilitation. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The BOOMER consists of timed static stance feet together eyes closed, Functional Reach, step test, and the Timed Up and Go test. Validity was determined using the Spearman correlation coefficient, comparing the BOOMER with the BBS and gait speed on admission and discharge. Responsiveness of the BOOMER was compared with the BBS and gait speed for the change scores between admission and discharge using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Results The BOOMER demonstrated high to very high correlation with the BBS at admission (ρ=.91; P