Purpose
The FAAM was developed to provide a universal measure of change in physical functioning of patients with leg, ankle, and foot musculoskeletal disorders. Creating such a universal self-report measure would improve researchers’ and clinicians’ ability to compare effectiveness of relevant treatments as well as provide a tool with which to gather information about the pathology and impairments caused by lower extremity disorders. The study aimed to create a measure with items that would evaluate overall physical performance of patients with a wide variety of foot, ankle, and leg disorders. Once the FAAM was created, researchers also aimed to collect evidence for the validity, reliability, and responsiveness of the instrument to ensure clinically meaningful interpretation of results relating to impairments in normal functioning due to ankle and foot disorders.
Acronym
FAAM
Area of Assessment
Activities of Daily Living
Functional Mobility
Gait
Life Participation
Occupational Performance
Assessment Type
Patient Reported Outcomes
Cost
Free
- The FAAM is a self-report measure that assesses physical function of individuals with lower leg, foot, and ankle musculoskeletal disorders.
- This instrument includes 2 subscales:
1) Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) subscale of 21 items
2) Sports subscale of 8 items.
- For each subscale patients are asked to answer each question with a single response that most clearly describes their condition within the past week.
- Answers for both scales are based on a Likert scale (4-0) of:
4) “no difficulty”
3) “slight difficulty”
2) “moderate difficulty”
1) “extreme difficulty”
0) “unable to do”
- If an activity in question is limited by something other than their foot or ankle, the patient is asked to record N/A.
- In addition to this, each subscale asks the patient to rate separately their current level of function during their usual activities of daily living and during their sports related activities from 0 to 100 with 100 being the patient’s prior level of function and 0 being unable to perform their usual daily activities.
- The FAAM also asks the patient to note their current level of function as “normal”, “nearly normal”, “abnormal”, and “severely abnormal”.
- When scoring the FAAM, there should be two scores, one for each subscale.
- In order to score the ADL subscale and the Sports subscale, 20/21 items and 7/8 items must be completed, respectively.
- For all other responses, there is a one-point interval between each category.
- Questions for which “N/A” is indicated are not counted.
- To calculate the score for either subscale, the total number of points are added, divided by the total number of possible points (84 for the ADL subscale and 32 for the Sports subscale), and then multiplied by 100.
- Therefore, a higher score reflects a higher level of physical function.
- The MDC and MCID for the ADL subscale and Sports subscale are 5.7 and 8 points and 12.3 and 9 points, respectively.
Number of Items
ADL: 21
Sports: 8
Required Training
No Training
Instrument Reviewers
Corinne Bohling, SPT; Christie Clem, SPT; Nicole Davis, SPT; Jeremy Evans, SPT; Kelly Hewitt, SPT; Christopher Hope, SPT; Genevieve Monroe, SPT; Sarah Morrison, SPT; Elizabeth Nixon, SPT; Lindsey Viltrakis, SPT.
Body Part
Lower Extremity
ICF Domain
Body Function
Activity
Participation
Measurement Domain
Activities of Daily Living
Motor
Professional Association Recommendation
Recommendations for use based on acuity level of the patient.
Recommendations based on level of care in which the assessment is taken:
Recommendations for entry-level physical therapy education and use in research
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The authors suggest that the FAAM be used as a self-reported evaluative instrument to provide a comprehensive assessment of the physical function of patients who have musculoskeletal disorders of the foot, ankle, or leg.
Considerations
Further study regarding validity of using the FAAM score for other settings (aside from outpatient ortho) or over a different time frame (> or < 4 weeks). Should also investigate the reliability and responsiveness across different functional levels.
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