Content validity of the comprehensive home fall hazard checklist, an observational study

One strategy to reduce the number of falls in older adults is through home hazards assessment checklists. The comprehensive home fall hazard checklist (CHFHC) was designed to guide individuals through their home, assessing fall hazards. The checklist systematically prompts the individuals to check 10 general locations in the house The purpose of this study was to assess the content validity of the comprehensive home fall hazard checklist. A 4-point ordinal Likert rating scale was used to evaluate the content validity of each of the 74 items on the checklist. The relevance and clarity of each item was assessed. Nine experts rated the content validity of each test in relation to the 5 tasks in the rating protocol. The item content validity index, and the scale content validity index were determined, and a kappa rating was calculated. Three of the 74 items on the CHFHC were determined to be not relevant receiving a content validity index of 0.78 or less. All of the items were ranked as being quite clear or highly clear, with all items receiving at least 0.78 on the content validity index. The Kappa score indicates expert agreement. The content validity index was determined to be excellent, with high ratings for both relevance and clarity for 71 of 74 items on the CHFHC.