Examining Content Validity of Home for Life Design Home Assessment for Home Safety and Accessibility

Background: Older adults aging in place face daily challenges in functional mobility and increased fall risk. Home environments lack accessibility and safety features that promote safety, independence, and longevity. Quality home assessments that are reliable, valid, and efficient are necessary to help determine the safety and accessibility of the built environment for persons aging in place. Method: A mixed-method study was conducted to determine if the Home for Life Design (HfLD) Home Assessment is a valid assessment for measuring safety and accessibility in the home. Eight experienced occupational therapists completed a Content Validity Index (CVI) and qualitative interview with a thematic analysis to determine content validity. Results: CVI results were between.875–1.0 for all five items (*value > .83 needed to be­ a valid assessment, (Yusoff, 2019), confirming the validity of the assessment. These scores were supported by four qualitative interview themes that emerged during the participants’ descriptions of professional use of the tool, including measures accessibility, measures safety, a preferred home assessment, and client-centric. Conclusion: The HfLD Home Assessment appears to be a relevant and valid method to assess and measure the safety and accessibility of a person’s home environment.