Validity and reliability of the Chinese translation of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE)

Abstract

Purpose: To translate and assess the reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE).

Methods: Participants included Chinese individuals >65 living in the community or assistive living facilities. At baseline, 73 subjects completed the translated PASE, and Chinese versions of three other scales to evaluate validity; the Timed-Up and Go (TUG), the Older American Resources Services Activities of Daily Living (OARS ADL), and the Activities Balance Confidence Scale (ABC). At follow-up, 66 subjects completed the PASE and a questionnaire to determine if there were any changes in health over the retest period.

Results: The mean baseline PASE-C score was 76.0 (±49.1) at baseline and 78.33 (±50.27) at follow up. Correlations between the PASE-C and other variables were: age r = −0.51; TUG r = –0.52; OARS ADL r = 0.56 and ABC score r = 0.62. The retest reliability was ICC = 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.68–0.86).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that the PASE-C has acceptable reliability and there is support for validity in the older Chinese population.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Physical activity is one to the best modalities for promoting, maintaining and/or remediating health after illness or impairment therefore knowledge of an older individual’s physical activity level is fundamental to rehabilitation clinicians and researchers.

• Translated standardized measures enable clinicians and researchers to capture data from otherwise inaccessible subjects/populations.

• The most commonly understood language in the world is Chinese yet almost no self-report measures of physical activity are available for this population.

• There is evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE-C).

Keywords::

• Physical activity
• Physical Activity Scale for Elderly (PASE)
• elderly
• Chinese

Acknowledgments

The authors would also like to express their gratitude to the persons who participated in this study.

Declaration of Interest: Salary support for Dr Miller was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.