THE RELIABILITY OF A SELF-REPORTED MEASURE OF DISEASE, IMPAIRMENT, AND FUNCTION IN PERSONS WITH SPINAL-CORD DYSFUNCTION

Objective: To develop a self-report instrument that would provide info rmation about the different levels of the disablement process, and tha t (1) was suitable for persons with spinal cord disease (SCD), (2) cou ld be completed quickly, (3) could be mailed, (4) had acceptable relia bility, and (5) would be clinically useful. Study Design: Test-retest using a convenience sample. Methods: Review of the literature and an e xpert panel were used to develop the instrument. It was mailed to 49,4 58 individuals in June 1995 and a second mailing was done in August 19 95. A subset of 725 individuals who responded to both mailings was use d to examine the instrument's test-retest reliability. Results: The in strument has a 4th grade reading level and has questions on causal dis ease, disease severity, impairment, activities of daily living (includ ing a self-reported version of the Functional Independence Measure, th e SRFM), and resource utilization. Individual item test-retest reliabi lity was high for a mailed questionnaire; all kappa coefficients were near or above .60 and most were over .70, Intraclass correlation coeff icient for the SRFM was .90 and internal consistency (Chronbach's alph a) was .96. Conclusion: This instrument provides a new, rapid way to o btain information relative to the differing levels of the disablement process. (C) 1998 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.