Reliability and validity of the CONFbal scale in patients with hemiparesis following stroke

Abstract

Background: The 10-item CONFbal scale is a measure used to assess balance confidence in geriatric population. However, its measurement properties have not been studied in the poststroke population. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the CONFbal scale in poststroke patients. Methods: We did a cross-sectional study of 80 poststroke patients with hemiparesis attending the Neurology Outpatient Department, PSG Hospitals, Coimbatore. Participants completed the CONFbal scale and the activities-specific balance confidence (ABC) scale in a random order to assess balance confidence. Results: The Cronbach's alpha for CONFbal scale was 0.894, which showed that the items of the scale were internally consistent. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) for CONFbal and ABC scales was −0.702, which showed that there was a moderate association between the two scales. Conclusion: The CONFbal scale is a reliable and valid scale to assess balance confidence in poststroke patients.

Keywords

• Balance confidence
• CONFbal
• reliability
• stroke
• validity