Psychometric Properties of the Fall Risk Perception Questionnaire-Short Version for Inpatients in Acute Care Hospitals

Purpose: Patients’ perception of fall risk is a promising new indicator for fall prevention. Therefore, a fall risk perception questionnaire that can be used rapidly and repeatedly in acute care settings is required. This study aimed to develop a short version of the fall risk perception questionnaire (Short-FRPQ) for inpatients. Methods: For the psychometric measurements, 246 inpatients were recruited from an acute care hospital. The construct (using confirmatory factor analysis and discriminant validity of each item), convergent, and known-group va-lidities were tested to determine the validity of the Short-FRPQ. McDonald’s omega coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency of reliability. Results: In the confirmatory factor analysis, the fit indices of the Short-FRPQ, comprising 14 items and three factors, ap-peared to be satisfactory. The Short-FRPQ had a significantly positive correlation with the original scale, the Korean Falls Efficacy Scale-In-ternational, and the Morse Fall Scale. The risk of falls group, assessed using the Morse Fall Scale, had a higher score on the Short-FRPQ. McDonald’s omega coefficient was .90. Conclusion: The Short-FRPQ presents good reliability and validity. As patient participation is essen-tial in fall interventions, evaluating the fall risk perception of inpatients quickly and repeatedly using scales of acceptable validity and reliability is necessary.