Reliability, Responsiveness, and Validity of the Kansas University Standing Balance Scale

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to investigate the reliability, responsiveness, and concurrent validity of the Kansas University Standing Balance Scale (KUSBS). METHODS: For the reliability study, the KUSBS was used twice on 2 separate days with 23 inpatient rehabilitation patients. To assess responsiveness and concurrent validity, a retrospective chart review of 25 patients was performed to examine changes in KUSBS scores and changes in FIM transfer and walking scores from admission to discharge. RESULTS: In the reliability study, the KUSBS was found to have good intra-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 0.893 for novice physical therapists, ICC = 0.765 for experienced physical therapists), and moderate inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.728). In comparing scores at admission and discharge to determine responsiveness, KUSBS scores were significantly different at these 2 times (p = 0.001), and the effect size was 0.58. In the concurrent validity study, changes in KUSBS scores were significantly correlated with changes in the FIM mark transfer score (rs = 0.486, p = 0.014) but correlation with changes in the FIM walking score did not reach significance (rs = 0.383, p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: The reliability, responsiveness, and concurrent validity of the KUSBS are promising, although further study is needed to examine this scale in different therapy settings with a larger sample.