THE SIP68 - A MEASURE OF HEALTH-RELATED FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN REHABILITATION-MEDICINE

Objective: To demonstrate the usefulness of the SIP68, a recently deve loped short version of the sickness impact profile (SIP), for measurin g health-related functional status in rehabilitation medicine. Design: Survey, oral interviews. Setting: Patient's homes. Patients: 315 pers ons (out of 423 that could be reached) with a spinal cord injury whose mean average age was 39.4 years and who were living in the community at the time of the interview. Main Outcome Measures: Internal consiste ncy is tested by computing Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity is tes ted by principal components analysis and computing Cattell's similarit y index. Criterion validity is tested by comparing SIP68 results with the level of the spinal cord lesion and with results of specific measu res of disability (Barthel Index) and life satisfaction (Life Satisfac tion Questionnaire), and with vocational status. Results: SIP68 scores and subscale scores indicate that our spinal cord injured group falls well within the scope of this instrument. Internal consistency figure s are good and the proposed six-dimensional structure is confirmed. Cr iterion validity figures are also satisfactory. Barthel Index scores s how high agreement with the scores of the subscale ''somatic autonomy, '' moderate agreement with the other physically related and socially r elated subscales, and low agreement with the mentally related subscale s of the SIP68. LSQ scores show low agreement with the physically rela ted subscales and moderate agreement with the mentally and socially re lated subscales. figures of vocational status show strongest agreement with the socially oriented subscales. zConclusion: The SIP68 is recom mended as a useful generic outcome measure for research in rehabilitat ion medicine. (C) 1996 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medi cine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation