Abstract: Objective To translate and develop a Chinese version of the Edmonton Frailty Scale(EFS)from the English version, and to investigate the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of EFS in Chinese elderly inpatients. Methods After the authorization, this study adopted a seven-step approach to translate and culture-adapt the English version of EFS to a Chinese version. Then, a total of 64 elderly inpatients received the assessement of Chinese version of EFS and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) test at site. The data were recorded and analyzed by using Excel and SPSS 16.0 software. The reliability of the scale was described by Cronbach’s α coefficient. The construct validity and predictive validity of the scale was described by Spearman correlation coefficient. Results The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the Chinese version of EFS was 0.703, which suggested that the intenal consistency reliability of the scale was good. Excepted for the second item ‘number of hospitalizations in last year’ of the Chinese version of EFS, the Spearman correlation coefficient between the other items and the total score of the scale was 0.338-0.718 (P<0.01), which suggested that the construct validity of the scale was ideal. The total score of the Chinese version of EFS was negatively correlated with the total score of SF-36 (r=-0.622, P<0.01), which suggested that the predictive validity of the Chinese version of EFS was ideal. Conclusions The Chinese version of EFS has a good reliability and validity, which could be used as a tool in the evaluation of frailty in Chinese elderly inpatients.

Key words: elderly inpatient, frailty questionnaire, reliability, validity