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Validation of the Frenchay Activities index in a general population aged 16 years and older,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1053/apmr.2000.7162Get rights and content

Abstract

Turnbull JC, Kersten P, Habib M, McLellan L, Mullee MA, George S. Validation of the Frenchay Activities Index in a general population aged 16 years and older. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000;81:1034-8. Objectives: To assess the validity and reliability of the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI) and to establish age and sex norms in people at or over the age of 16 years. Design and Setting: Postal questionnaire survey to 1280 people randomly selected from 8 Health Authority patient registers in England. Main Outcome Measures: FAI scores, subscale scores by age and sex, health status, perceived level of activity, and subjects' opinions on how well the FAI reflected their activities. Test-retest reliability was measured in 1 Health Authority. Results: The response rate was 49%. Men scored lower than women overall and on the domestic activities subscale. Respondents between the ages of 16 and 24 years and those over 85 years had the lowest FAI scores. FAI scores were related to self-reported health status, self-reported levels of activity, and presence of long-standing illness/disability. The FAI has high test-retest reliability. Qualitative data suggested that items such as sport, physical exercise, and caring for children should be included to make the FAI suitable for a wider age range. Conclusion: The FAI has good construct validity, particularly in middle-aged and elderly people, and is reliable. For the FAI to be valid in nonstroke populations, items specific to younger people must be incorporated into it. We have established preliminary age and sex norms that should be interpreted with caution, given the low response rate. © 2000 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Section snippets

Methods

The study was conducted as a postal questionnaire survey in two phases, using a sample from the general population in England. The United Kingdom (UK) has had a comprehensive free-at-the-point-of-contact health service since 1948. The large majority of the population is registered, for the purposes of primary care delivery, with a general medical practitioner (GP). Health service management for the population of England is expedited by about 90 Health Authorities (HAs), each of which covers

Results

Of the 1280 people identified in both phases of this study, 58 were excluded because they had moved away, or judged themselves “too ill” or “too old” to complete the questionnaire, or had died. Of the remaining 1222 people, 602 valid questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 49.3%.

More women than men participated in the study (χ2 = 5.02; df = 1; p = .03, table 1). Some variation in response rates between age bands was observed, ranging from 62 (39%) in the age band of 16 to 24

Discussion

Our response rate of 49.3% falls short of the much-quoted acceptable rate of 65% for postal surveys. This is not for want of trying, however, and it seems unlikely that further questionnaire rounds would have made much improvement. It is worth exploring the possible reasons for this low rate, however. In the present study, 44% of respondents reported a long-standing illness or disability, which compares with the 35% in the general population.24 It appears, therefore, that people with a

Conclusion

The present study has established preliminary age and sex norms that should be interpreted with caution, given the low response rate and the fact that 44% of the sample reported a long-standing illness or disability. We found significant relations between self-reported health, the presence of a long-standing illness or disability, and levels of self-reported activity. The study showed that the FAI has good construct validity, particularly in middle-aged and elderly people, and has good

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Health Authority groups and respondents who participated in the study. We thank also South and West Regional Health Authority for funding the study.

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    No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

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    Reprint requests to Steve George, University of Southampton Health Care Research Unit, Mailpoint 805, Level B South Academic Block, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, United Kingdom.

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