Reliability and Validity of a Pediatric Fall Risk Assessment Scale for Hospitalized Patients in Taiwan.

Background andObjectives: A valid fall risk assessment scale could increase the efficacy of fall prevention programs. Most fall scales were developed for adults, and it is very difficult to predict and prevent falls in pediatric inpatients. This study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of a pediatric fall assessment scale (PFAS). Methods: This study was conducted as a cohort study in Taichung City, Taiwan. We analyzed the scale for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated to show sensitivity and specificity for predicting falls. Results: The results indicated that test-retest reliability was 0.89 (P= .000). The area under the ROC curve was 0.797. For the ROC curves for the pediatric fall risk assessment scale, with 11.5 points being the minimum score for a high risk of fall, sensitivity was 71.8%, specificity 74.6%, and the 95% CI was 0.746-0.848. Conclusion: The results of the data analysis showed that the PFAS is an appropriate scale for assessing the fall risk of hospitalized pediatric patients in Taiwan and potentially in other nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]