Miller EW, Whalen RL, Biehl D, Jeans M, Rogers J, Whitehead D; University of Indianapolis Krannert School of Physical Therapy, Indianapolis, IN. emiller@uindy.edu.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) for assisted living dwellers with varying levels of cognitive status. SUBJECTS: The study included 34 volunteers from assisted living facilities in a large metropolitan area. Participants were included if they were able to verbally communicate in English, were at least 60 years old and had an eighth grade education. Informed consent was obtained from participants and, if applicable, their powers-of-attorney. METHODS: The testing consisted of 4 visits within 2 weeks. During the first visit, demographic and medical information was obtained, and the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) was administered. During each of the next three visits, the subtests of the SFT were administered at the same time of day, in the same order and according to the instructions provided in the SFT Manual. The subtests of the SFT test were: chair stand test (lower body strength), arm curl test (upper body strength), chair sit-and-reach test (lower body flexibility), back scratch test (upper body flexibility), 8-foot up-and-go test (agility and dynamic balance) and 6-minute walk test (aerobic endurance). ANALYSIS: Participants were divided post-hoc into 2 groups based on MMSE scores. Group A (n = 13) included participants with MMSE scores of 24-30 indicating normal status or mild cognitive impairment. Group B (n = 22) included participants with MMSE scores less than 24 indicating moderate or severe cognitive impairment. 2x3 repeated measures ANOVAs (group by day) were performed for each of the 6 subtests. Cronbach’s alphas were used to determine if participants held their relative position with repeated testing. Alpha was set at <0.05. RESULTS: For Group A, Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.8088 to 0.9808 and repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference across test days for the arm curl test. For Group B, Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.8841 to 0.9818 and repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences across test days for chair stand test, arm curl test, 8-foot up-and-go test and 6-minute walk test. CONCLUSIONS: Cronbach’s alpha levels were acceptable overall. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that except for the arm curl test, the SFT subtests were reliable for assisted living dwellers with higher cognitive function (Group A). The inconsistent performance by Group B on 4 of the 6 subtests indicated that the SFT may not reliably represent current level of fitness for older adults with lower cognitive function who reside in assisted living facilities. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

Copyright 2004 by the American Physical Therapy Association

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