Self-reported function and disability in late life – cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Swedish version of the late-life function and disability instrument

PURPOSE: To translate and perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument (LLFDI) to Swedish, to investigate absolute and relative reliability, concurrent validity, and floor and ceiling effects within a Swedish-speaking sample of community-dwelling older adults with self-reported balance deficits and fear of falling. METHOD: Translation, reliability and validation study of the LLFDI. Sixty-two community-dwelling, healthy older adults (54 women and 8 men) aged 68–88 years with balance deficits and fear of falling performed the LLFDI twice with an interval of 2 weeks. RESULTS: Test–retest agreement, intra-class correlation coefficient was very good, 0.87–0.91 in the LLFDI function component and 0.82–0.91 in the LLFDI disability component. The standard error of measure was small, 5–9%, and the smallest real difference was 14–24%. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was high (0.90–0.96). Correlation with the SF-36 PCS and PF-10 was moderate in both LLFDI function, r = 0.39–0.68 and r = 0.35–0.52, and LLFDI disability, r = 0.40–0.63 and 0.34–0.57, respectively. There was no floor or ceiling effects. CONCLUSION: The Swedish version of the LLFDI is a highly reliable and valid instrument for assessing function and disability in community-dwelling older women with self-reported balance deficits and fear of falling. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: The Swedish LLFDI is a highly reliable and valid instrument for assessing function and disability in older women with self-reported balance deficits and fear of falling. The instrument may be used both in clinical settings and in research. The instrument is sensitive to change and a reasonably small improvement is enough to detect changes in a group or a single individual.