Research in the reliability and validity of the Dynamic Gait Index-Chinese version in assessment of the falling risk of elderly people

Objective To test the reliability and validity of the Dynamic Gait Index-Chinese version.Methods Using convenience sampling method to assess 200 elderly people with DGI,and evaluate the reliability and validity of DGI.Results The Cornbach's α was 0.959,the Guttman split-half coefficient was 0.951 and the test-retest reliability was 0.758.The correlation coefficients between each item with the total score ranged form 0.729 to 0.919.The factor analysis indicated the DGI was composed of 1 factor,which could explain 71.899％ of total variance; the factor loading valued from 0.710 to 0.922; the score of the fall group was lower than that of the non-fall group,the difference was statistically significant,the criterion-related validity was 0.937.Conclusions The Chinese version of DGI has good reliability and validity,it can be used as a valid tool for the assessment of elderly people's falling risk. Key words: Fall;  Dynamic Gait Index;  Reliability;  Validity