Brunel Balance Assessment

Synonyms

BBA

Definition

The Brunel Balance Assessment (BBA) clinical assessment tool is designed as an outcome measure to assess balance before and after stroke physiotherapy interventions. It consists of 12 items that progress from easy to difficult in a hierarchical manner to form an ordinal scale. The easiest item is “static sitting balance with upper limb support”; a mid-range item is “dynamic standing balance”; the hardest item is “advanced change of the base of support.” Each item is assessed by evaluating performance on a specific task with task-specific criteria for succeeding; for example, dynamic standing balance is assessed by evaluating the distance that the individual can reach beyond arm’s length. Success at this task is set at a minimum reach of 7 cm. Each item is scored using a pass/fail criteria based upon task-specific performance or time standards. The BBA items are arranged into three subscales which can be used individually: sitting, standing, and stepping balance.