Abstract: Objective To introduce the Chinese version of short Falls Efficacy Scale International (short FES-I) and test its reliability and validity in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods The English version and the traditional Chinese version of short FES-I were obtained from the Prevention of Falls Network Europe, and the simplified Chinese version was developed after a further revision. A sample of 105 inpatients with cerebral infarction from December 2014 to May 2015 were recruited from 2 tertiary hospitals in Tianjin. They were investigated with the simplified Chinese version of short FES- I, modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), Generalized Anxiety Disorder- 7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). At the same time, the laboratory indexes of the patients were collected. Results The Cronbach's α coefficient of short FES-I was 0.98 and the score of short FES-I was negatively correlated with MFES (r=-0.41, P<0.001). Short FES-I was correlated wtih GAD-7 score (r=0.52, P<0.001), PHQ-9 score (r=0.46, P<0.001) and the level of C reaction protein (r= 0.21, P=0.032), but uncorrelated with other laboratory indexes (P>0.05). There was significant difference in the score of short FES-I between the patients with or without falling. Conclusion Short FES-I is valid and internal consistant, and can be used as an assessment tool to screen fear of falling among patients with cerebral infarction.

Key words: cerebral infarction, fear of falling, falls efficacy, reliability, validity