Timed Up-and-Go Test and Sit-to-Stand Test in Community-Dwelling Older Person: Inter and Intraobserver Reliability Among Turkish Nurses

Abstract

Background: A decrease in dynamic balance and muscle strength related to ageing is associated with a decreased quality of life, reduced life expectancy and increased risk of falls. Timed stand-up test (TUG) is one of the most used clinical tests for the evaluation of dynamic balance and sit-to-stand test (STS). Although these tests are reported to be reliable in pathological conditions in different populations and different countries, there is a gap in the evaluation of the reliability of the tests by nurses in the older persons living in Turkish society.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the inter- and intra-observer reliability of the timed up-and-go test (TUG) and sit-to-stand test (STS) performed by nurses in Turkish community-dwelling older persons.

Methods: A total of 97 community-dwelling older persons participated in this study. To determine the interobserver reliability of the TUG and STS tests, all tests were performed at an interval of 30 min by two nurses. To determine the intra-observer reliability of the tests, each measurement was repeated 1 week after the first measurement by another nurse.

Results: Excellent intra-observer reliability was found for the TUG (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.962) and STS tests (ICC = 0.996), with a total range of 0.943-0.997. Excellent interobserver reliability was found for the TUG (ICC = 0.995) and STS (ICC = 0.996) tests. The coefficient of variant values for the tests was < 15%.

Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the TUG and STS tests can be reliably used by nurses in community-dwelling older persons.

Implications for practice: This study is important in terms of determining the risk of falling among older persons aged 60 and over in Turkey, preventing hospitalisations due to falls and developing nursing policies that promote the safety of older persons individuals.

Keywords: dynamic balance; measurement; muscle strength; older persons; reliability; reproducibility of results.