CHAPTER 4: THE FRENCHAY ACTIVITIES INDEX (FAI)
Description
Developed by Holbrook and Skilbeck, (1983), the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI) is a questionnaire that is used to measure instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in patients following stroke. The FAI is designed to measure more complex levels of independence and social survival, beyond only basic-ADLs or IADLs and consists of 15 items that address both the frequency and successful performance of those activities over a 3- to 6-month time frame (Tooth, McKenna, Smith, & O’Rourke, 2003). Ten items of the measure refer to everyday activities that the person has engaged in during the past 3 months, while 5 items relate to seasonal activities accomplished during the last 6 months. The FAI is further delineated into 3 subscales that relate to domestic activities (items 1 to 5) leisure/work (items 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15), and the outdoors (items 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14). Each of the activities is then scored along a variable 4-point scale (range: 0 to 3 points) based on frequency of engagement with higher scores representing more participation. The FAI can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
TABLE 4-1
THE 15 ITEMS OF THE FRENCHAY ACTIVITIES INDEX
1. Preparing main meals | 8. Walking outside > 15 minutes |
2. Washing up | 9. Pursuing a hobby |
3. Washing clothes | 10. Driving a car/bus ride |
4. Light house work | 11. Travel outings/car rides |
5. Heavy house work | 12. Gardening |
6. Local shopping | 13. House/car maintenance |
7. Social occasions | 14. Reading books |
15. Gainful work |
Adapted from Wendel, K., Stahl, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2013). Inter-rater agreement of a modified and extended Swedish version of the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI). European Journal of Ageing, 10(3), 249.
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
