CONSTRUCT-VALIDATION OF THE HOENSBROECK-DISABILITY-SCALE-FOR-BRAIN-INJURY IN ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY REHABILITATION

Purpose: To evaluate the construct validity of the Hoensbroeck Disabil ity Scale for Brain Injury (HDSB) against the Disability Rating Scale (DRS). Methods: The HDSB was correlated with the DRS at admission, 6 w eeks later and at discharge in 33 brain injured patients during post-a cute rehabilitation. Next, to study the longitudinal construct validit y of the HDSB the mean changes in score of the HDSB and the DRS were c orrelated. Finally, the sensitivity to change over a 6-week period was evaluated by comparison of the effectsizes of the HDSB scores with th e DRS scores. Results: The HDSB subscales correlate high and in the ex pected direction with the DRS at all three points in time. The: correl ation of the changes between HDSB and DRS is moderate, but in the expe cted direction. The sensitivity to change in time of the HDSB is lower than that or the DRS. Conclusions: This study supports the validity o f the HDSB as an instrument to describe the disability of acquired bra in injury patients at a single point in time. Its ability to measure c hanges in disability over time is questionable and needs further inves tigation.