Analysis of the Stroke Impact Scale-16 in relation to falls in people with stroke living in the community, according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

The purpose was to determine if a group of items of the Stroke Impact Scale-16 (SIS-16) belonging to an International Classification of Health and Disability (ICF) domain have greater accuracy than the total SIS-16 in a falls screen. SIS-16 items were classified into Body Structure and Function (BSF), Activity (ACT) or Participation (PART) domain. Sensitivity (Sn) and Specificity (Sp) for different domains was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for people with a history of any falls and multiple falls. The results were compared to the Sn and Sp of that of the total SIS-16. In AF group, the BSF domain had the highest overall Sn and Sp (0.60, 0.87). In MF group, the total SIS-16 had the best overall Sn and Sp (0.78, 0.76). Selected group of SIS-16 items may be more accurate and efficient than using the total SIS-16 in identifying risk for a single fall.