Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the Stay Independent Brochure as part of the CDC’s STEADI initiative among community-dwelling older adults

Abstract Background The Stay Independent Brochure (SIB) is part of the CDC’s STEADI initiative and is a fall risk screening self-report tool. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Arabic version of the SIB (AR-SIB) and evaluate its psychometric properties among community-dwelling older adults. Methods The translation and cross-cultural adaptation process followed standard guidelines, including forward and backward translation, expert committee review, and pretesting to ensure semantic and conceptual equivalence, clarity, and cultural relevance of the Arabic version of the SIB. Internal consistency was assessed using the Kuder-Richardson formula (KR-20), and test–retest reliability was evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1). Convergent validity of the AR-SIB was evaluated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (rs) with the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and point-biserial correlation coefficients (rpb) with the three key questions. Floor and ceiling effects and the operating characteristic (ROC) curve were also calculated. Results A total of 104 community-dwelling older adults participated in the study. The majority of participants were female (52.9%) and had a mean age of 63.77 ± 4.74 years. The AR-SIB demonstrated good internal consistency with an overall KR-20 of 0.73 and excellent test–retest reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.96). The AR-SIB showed moderate correlations with the TUG (rs = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.35 to 0.64) and the BBS (rs = -0.56, 95% CI: -0.69 to -0.41), and a high correlation with the three key questions (rpb = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65 to 0.82). No floor or ceiling effects were observed. The cutoff point of the AR-SIB was determined to be 4.5. Conclusions The AR-SIB is a reliable and valid tool to discriminate falls and screen for fall risk among Arabic-speaking community-dwelling older adults. The AR-SIB can facilitate the implementation of evidence-based fall prevention initiatives tailored to Arabic-speaking older adults.