Balance Evaluation Systems Test: deutsche Übersetzung, kulturelle Anpassung und erste Ergebnisse zu Gütekriterien

BACKGROUND: The Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) evaluates balance ability and identifies affected systems associated with balance deficits. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was the translation and cultural adaptation of the BESTest into German. Secondary objective was the preliminary evaluation of psychometric properties of the BESTest. METHOD: In accordance with international guidelines, the BESTest was translated and adapted by a 7-step process. To test the psychometric properties, persons with subjective or objective balance deficits were included. Internal consistency was evaluated by means of Cronbach’s alpha. The criterion validity was tested by measuring the correlation with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Construct validity was examined using the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC-D) scale and the known groups methods (fallers versus non-fallers). RESULTS: A total of 27 subjects were included in the testing of the psychometric properties. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.95 for the total scale. The correlation of BESTest scores with those of the BBS revealed a Spearmen’s ρ of 0.84 (p < 0.001) and 0.61 (p < 0.001) with those of the ABC‑D scale. Fallers and non-fallers showed a trend towards different BESTest scores (p = 0.057). DISCUSSION: This paper provides a German translation of the BESTest authorized by the developer. Our preliminary results confirm reliability and validity.