Abstract
Objective: To examine the ability of the Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index/Assistive Technology (SCI-FI/AT) measure to detect change in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Multisite longitudinal (12-mo follow-up) study. Setting: Nine SCI Model Systems programs. Participants: Adults (N=165) with SCI enrolled in the SCI Model Systems database. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: SCI-FI/AT computerized adaptive test (CAT) (Basic Mobility, Self-Care, Fine Motor Function, Wheelchair Mobility, and/or Ambulation domains) completed at discharge from rehabilitation and 12 months after SCI. For each domain, effect size estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for subgroups with paraplegia and tetraplegia. Results: The demographic characteristics of the sample were as follows: 46% (n=76) individuals with paraplegia, 76% (n=125) male participants, 57% (n=94) used a manual wheelchair, 38% (n=63) used a power wheelchair, 30% (n=50) were ambulatory. For individuals with paraplegia, the Basic Mobility, Self-Care, and Ambulation domains of the SCI-FI/AT detected a significantly large amount of change; in contrast, the Fine Motor Function and Wheelchair Mobility domains detected only a small amount of change. For those with tetraplegia, the Basic Mobility, Fine Motor Function, and Self-Care domains detected a small amount of change whereas the Ambulation item domain detected a medium amount of change. The Wheelchair Mobility domain for people with tetraplegia was the only SCI-FI/AT domain that did not detect significant change. Conclusions: SCI-FI/AT CAT item banks detected an increase in function from discharge to 12 months after SCI. The effect size estimates for the SCI-FI/AT CAT vary by domain and level of lesion. Findings support the use of the SCI-FI/AT CAT in the population with SCI and highlight the importance of multidimensional functional measures.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1783-1788 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |
Volume | 99 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported in part by grants funding the Spinal Cord Injury Model System (grant nos. 90SI5015-01-00, 90SI5026, 90SI5012, 90SI5009, 90S15014, 90S15000, and 90S15021-01-00), sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and by a Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I Scholarship from the Foundation for Physical Therapy.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
Keywords
- health care
- Outcome assessment
- Psychometrics
- Rehabilitation
- Spinal cord injuries
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Multicenter Study
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.