M. Cardol et al., The development of a handicap assessment questionnaire: the Impact on Participation and Autonomy (IPA), CLIN REHAB, 13(5), 1999, pp. 411-419
Objective: To report on the feasibility and psychometric properties in term
s of homogeneity and construct validity of a newly developed handicap quest
ionnaire focusing on person-perceived handicaps: the Impact on Participatio
n and Autonomy (IPA).
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting, subjects and outcome measure: One hundred consecutive individuals
from the outpatient clinic of the department of rehabilitation of an academ
ic hospital administered the new questionnaire IPA.
Results: The results show good homogeneity and construct validity of the IP
A. Factor analysis showed that the scale consists of four factors, explaini
ng 68% of the total variance: social relationships, autonomy in self-care,
mobility and leisure, and family role. Homogeneity of the four subscales wa
s considered good, Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.84 (family role) to 0.87
(social relationships). Feasibility in terms of the number of missing value
s and administration time needed was satisfactory.
Conclusion: The first results suggest that the IPA promises to be a useful
handicap questionnaire. Further research is needed to establish test-retest
reliability, convergent validity and responsiveness to change.