The diverse constructs use of activities of daily living measures in stroke randomized controlled trials in the years 2005–2009

Consistency between two subjective assessments of activities of daily living: Patient- and occupational therapist-reported judgments

Purpose

To examine the consistency between patient- and occupational therapist-reported judgments of patients' ability and change in ADL abilities.

Materials

Patient- and therapist-reported ADL abilities were assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale, whilst the changes in patients' ADL abilities were reported by patients and therapists using a 15-point Likert-type scale.

Methods

Repeated assessments at a 3-week interval were used. 88 inpatients with stroke and 16 occupational therapists were recruited from rehabilitation wards in a medical center.

Results

Moderate correlations (rs = .53-.56) were found between the patient- and therapist-reported ADL abilities. The patient-reported scores were significantly lower (ds = .45; ps < .001 at follow-up) than the therapist-reported scores. Only low correlation (r = .33) was found for the change scores.

Conclusions

Our findings indicated that there was only a moderate to low correlation between the patients' reports and the therapists' judgments regarding the patients' ADL ability and its change. Because both patients' reports and therapists' judgments affect decisions on rehabilitation, frequent communication may be beneficial for reaching consensus and helpful in managing the interventions.

Efficacy analysis of virtual reality-based training for activities of daily living and functional task training in stroke patients: A single-subject study

INTRODUCTION

Virtual reality (VR)-based training for functions such as cognition, upper extremities, balancing, and activities of daily living (ADL) has been used on stroke patients, and its efficacy has been reported. However, no comparison has been made between the efficacy of VR-based training for daily activities that exactly reproduces ADL and functional training. Therefore, this study sought to analyze the difference in independency enhancement of VR-based training for daily activities compared to cognitive and motor functional training.

PATIENT CONCERNS AND DIAGNOSIS

This study was conducted on 4 patients who have been diagnosed with stroke and are currently receiving rehabilitation therapy in G hospital located in the city of Gwangju, using A-B-A'-B' design from single-subject experimental designs.

INTERVENTIONS

Intervention was performed in 2 ways: application of VR-based training for daily activities after the application of cognitive and motor function training; and application of cognitive and motor function training after the application of VR-based training for daily activities. The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, Computer Cognitive Screening Assessment System, Box and Block Test, and Grip and Pinch Strength Test were used to measure the changes in the performance of daily activities, cognitive function, and upper extremities function.

OUTCOMES

The results confirmed that the performance of daily activities, cognitive function, and upper extremities function was improved after the application of VR-based intervention. In addition, the efficacy of independency enhancement was maximized by the early approach of training for daily activities at the time of VR-based intervention in stroke patients.

CONCLUSIONS

VR-based intervention of training for daily activities and functional training can be considered to benefit the improvement of the performance of daily activities, cognitive function, and upper extremities function in stroke patients. In addition, although functional training was also effective in enhancing independency and functional improvement in stroke patients, an early approach to training for ADL based on tasks with objectives was deemed to be more effective.

A comparison of test-retest reliability and random measurement error of the Barthel Index and modified Barthel Index in patients with chronic stroke

OBJECTIVE

To compare the test-retest reliability and random measurement errors of the Barthel Index (BI) and modified Barthel Index (MBI) in patients with chronic stroke.

METHOD

The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the minimal detectable change (MDC) were applied respectively to examine the test-retest reliability (about 2 weeks apart) and the random measurement errors. The MDC% was used to adjust the cut-off score for determining whether a real change had been achieved, if heteroscedasticity existed.

RESULTS

A total of 60 patients participated. The BI and MBI both had high ICCs (0.94 and 0.94, respectively) with small MDCs (16.2 and 15.4, respectively) and MDC%s (21.2% and 19.0%, respectively), indicating that both measures have comparable reliability in repeated assessments. However, moderate associations (r = -0.47 for the BI and -0.59 for the MBI) were found between the means of tests and retests and the absolute values of change scores, indicating heteroscedasticity. These findings suggest that a fixed MDC value is not appropriate for determining the real change in both measures because the amount of random measurement error varies with the patients' ADL function.

CONCLUSION

The MBI, which showed excellent test-retest reliability and relatively lower random measurement error than the BI, appears to be a better ADL measure. The MDC% adjusted value is recommended to determine whether the change scores are beyond random measurement error.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe MBI is recommended for clinical and research applications because it has better test-retest reliability and relatively lower random measurement error than those of the original BI.The MDC% adjusted value is recommended to determine whether the change scores are beyond random measurement error when the MBI or the BI is used.

Reliability and Validity of a New Transfer Assessment Form for Stroke Patients

Introduction

Transferring is a basic skill that is essential for mobility independence and indispensable for expanding activities of daily living of stroke patients using a wheelchair. Therefore, transfer independence is an important issue that greatly affects daily life in the hospital and at home. To offer an effective intervention to acquire a skill, developing an assessment for individual subtasks that comprise transferring would assist the identification of specific tasks that prevent independence in patients and facilitate interventions to improve transferring independence.

Objective

To examine the reliability and validity of a newly developed transfer assessment form, the Bed‐wheelchair transfer Tasks Assessment Form (BTAF), for stroke patients to evaluate subtasks required for transferring.

Design

Validation and test‐retest studies.

Setting

Subacute rehabilitation wards in Japan.

Participants

A total of 82 therapists for verifying content validity; 30 patients for validation and test‐retest study.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

The content validity was initially assessed based on a questionnaire. Subsequently, four occupational therapists used the form to evaluate the video‐recorded transferring performances of stroke participants. Two assessors evaluated each performance once and then 2 weeks later. The inter‐rater reliability, intra‐rater reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity were examined.

Results

Fleiss's κ coefficient for inter‐rater reliability for each item of the form was 0.66 or more. Cohen's κ coefficient for intra‐rater reliability for each item was 0.73 or more. Cronbach's coefficient alpha ranged from 0.90 to 0.93. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients between the mean scores of our form and scores of the functional independence measure item “transfer to bed/chair/wheelchair” ranged from 0.53 to 0.78 (P < .01).

Conclusions

The form demonstrated good reliability and validity. Its usefulness and efficacy should be further investigated in stroke patients to facilitate rehabilitation.

Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

PURPOSE

The aim of this guideline is to provide a synopsis of best clinical practices in the rehabilitative care of adults recovering from stroke.

METHODS

Writing group members were nominated by the committee chair on the basis of their previous work in relevant topic areas and were approved by the American Heart Association (AHA) Stroke Council's Scientific Statement Oversight Committee and the AHA's Manuscript Oversight Committee. The panel reviewed relevant articles on adults using computerized searches of the medical literature through 2014. The evidence is organized within the context of the AHA framework and is classified according to the joint AHA/American College of Cardiology and supplementary AHA methods of classifying the level of certainty and the class and level of evidence. The document underwent extensive AHA internal and external peer review, Stroke Council Leadership review, and Scientific Statements Oversight Committee review before consideration and approval by the AHA Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee.

RESULTS

Stroke rehabilitation requires a sustained and coordinated effort from a large team, including the patient and his or her goals, family and friends, other caregivers (eg, personal care attendants), physicians, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, recreation therapists, psychologists, nutritionists, social workers, and others. Communication and coordination among these team members are paramount in maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of rehabilitation and underlie this entire guideline. Without communication and coordination, isolated efforts to rehabilitate the stroke survivor are unlikely to achieve their full potential.

CONCLUSIONS

As systems of care evolve in response to healthcare reform efforts, postacute care and rehabilitation are often considered a costly area of care to be trimmed but without recognition of their clinical impact and ability to reduce the risk of downstream medical morbidity resulting from immobility, depression, loss of autonomy, and reduced functional independence. The provision of comprehensive rehabilitation programs with adequate resources, dose, and duration is an essential aspect of stroke care and should be a priority in these redesign efforts. (Stroke.2016;47:e98-e169. DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000098.).

Examining the relationship between fatigue and cognition after stroke: A systematic review

Many stroke survivors experience fatigue, which is associated with a variety of factors including cognitive impairment. A few studies have examined the relationship between fatigue and cognition and have obtained conflicting results. The aim of the current study was to review the literature on the relationship between fatigue and cognition post-stroke. The following databases were searched: EMBASE (1980-February, 2014), PsycInfo (1806-February, 2014), CINAHL (1937-February, 2014), MEDLINE (1946-February, 2014), Ethos (1600-February, 2014) and DART (1999-February, 2014). Reference lists of relevant papers were screened and the citation indices of the included papers were searched using Web of Science. Studies were considered if they were on adult stroke patients and assessed the following: fatigue with quantitative measurements (≥ 3 response categories), cognition using objective measurements, and the relationship between fatigue and cognition. Overall, 413 papers were identified, of which 11 were included. Four studies found significant correlations between fatigue and memory, attention, speed of information processing and reading speed (r = -.36 to .46) whereas seven studies did not. Most studies had limitations; quality scores ranged from 9 to 14 on the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklists. There was insufficient evidence to support or refute a relationship between fatigue and cognition post-stroke. More robust studies are needed.

Hierarchical nature of activities of daily living in the Spanish Disability Survey

Many studies have addressed the issue of dimensionality in activities of daily living (ADL) and its hierarchy, with contradictory results. This paper aims to study the unidimensional structure and the hierarchy of ADL in the Spanish Disability Survey. We analysed a sample of 8381 people aged 65 and over with at least one disability and receiving personal help with one of them. The following Rasch model properties were studied in 14 items enquiring about basic and instrumental ADL: fit to the model, reliability, unidimensionality, local independency between items and differential item functioning (DIF) by gender, age and proxy. The unidimensionality of the scale was confirmed. The final analysis of eight items showed a satisfactory fit, good reliability, local independency, unidimensionality and no DIF by age. The disability linear measure showed significant differences by gender and age. The obtained disability scale is a simple and reliable measure, and it suggests a hierarchical order of ADL and predicts a schedule of functional impairment in older adults. Rating the disability of older community-dwelling people has a predictive value that policy makers might find useful in service planning.

Development of two Barthel Index-based Supplementary Scales for patients with stroke

BACKGROUND

The Barthel Index (BI) assesses actual performance of activities of daily living (ADL). However, comprehensive assessment of ADL functions should include two other constructs: self-perceived difficulty and ability.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to develop two BI-based Supplementary Scales (BI-SS), namely, the Self-perceived Difficulty Scale and the Ability Scale, and to examine the construct validity of the BI-SS in patients with stroke.

METHOD

The BI-SS was first developed by consultation with experts and then tested on patients to confirm the clarity and feasibility of administration. A total of 306 participants participated in the construct validity study. Construct validity was investigated using Mokken scale analysis and analyzing associations between scales. The agreement between each pair of the scales' scores was further examined.

RESULTS

The Self-perceived Difficulty Scale consisted of 10 items, and the Ability Scale included 8 items (excluding both bladder and bowel control items). Items in each individual scale were unidimensional (H ≥ 0.5). The scores of the Self-perceived Difficulty and Ability Scales were highly correlated with those of the BI (rho = 0.78 and 0.90, respectively). The scores of the two BI-SS scales and BI were significantly different from each other (p<.001). These results indicate that both BI-SS scales assessed unique constructs.

CONCLUSIONS

The BI-SS had overall good construct validity in patients with stroke. The BI-SS can be used as supplementary scales for the BI to comprehensively assess patients' ADL functions in order to identify patients' difficulties in performing ADL tasks, plan intervention strategies, and assess outcomes.

Reliability and responsiveness of the activities of daily living computerized adaptive testing system in patients with stroke

OBJECTIVE

To examine the intrarater reliability, interrater reliability, and responsiveness of the Activities of Daily Living Computerized Adaptive Testing system (ADL CAT) in patients with stroke.

DESIGN

One repeated-measures design (at an interval of 7d) was used to examine the intrarater reliability and interrater reliability of the ADL CAT. For the responsiveness study, participants were assessed with the ADL CAT at admission to the rehabilitation ward and at discharge from the hospital.

SETTING

Eight rehabilitation units.

PARTICIPANTS

Three different (nonoverlapping) groups of patients (N=157) were recruited. Fifty-five and 42 outpatients with chronic stroke participated in the intrarater and interrater reliability studies, respectively; 60 inpatients who had recently had a stroke participated in the responsiveness study.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE ADL CAT RESULTS

The intraclass correlation coefficient values were .94 and .80 for the ADL CAT in the intrarater reliability and interrater reliability studies, respectively. The classical test theory-based minimal detectable change values were 6.5 and 9.5 for the ADL CAT in the intrarater reliability and interrater reliability studies, respectively. The Kazis' effect size and standardized response mean of the ADL CAT were moderate (.62-.73).

CONCLUSIONS

The ADL CAT has good intrarater reliability and interrater reliability in outpatients with chronic stroke, and sufficient responsiveness in inpatients with stroke undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. Further investigations on the responsiveness of the ADL CAT in outpatients are needed to obtain more evidence on the utility of the ADL CAT.

Responsiveness and predictive validity of the hierarchical balance short forms in people with stroke

BACKGROUND

The lack of knowledge about the responsiveness and predictive validity of a set of Hierarchical Balance Short Forms (the HBSF) in people with stroke limits the utility of the HBSF in both clinical and research settings.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the responsiveness and predictive validity of the HBSF in people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke.

DESIGN

A prospective cohort study was conducted.

METHODS

Sixty-six participants completed both the 6-item HBSF and the 12-item Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke (PASS) after admission to the rehabilitation ward and before hospital discharge. The standardized effect size (ES) and the standardized response mean (SRM) were used to investigate the internal responsiveness of the HBSF and the PASS. Changes in the Barthel Index and the mobility subscale of the Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement were used as the external criteria for examining external responsiveness. Moreover, the admission scores on the HBSF and the PASS and the discharge scores on the Barthel Index and mobility subscale of the Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement were analyzed to investigate the predictive validity of the 2 balance measures.

RESULTS

The internal responsiveness of the HBSF was high (ES>0.9, SRM>1.6). The SRM of the HBSF was significantly larger than that of the PASS, whereas the ES of the HBSF was not significantly larger than that of the PASS. The external responsiveness and predictive validity of the HBSF were sufficient and similar to those of the PASS (external responsiveness: r≥.35; predictive validity: r≥.67).

LIMITATIONS

The convenience sampling of people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke may limit the generalization of the results.

CONCLUSIONS

The HBSF has sufficient responsiveness and predictive validity in people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke and is thus recommended for both clinicians and researchers.

Development of a computerized adaptive test for assessing activities of daily living in outpatients with stroke

BACKGROUND

An efficient, reliable, and valid measure for assessing activities of daily living (ADL) function is useful to improve the efficiency of patient management and outcome measurement.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to construct a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) system for measuring ADL function in outpatients with stroke.

DESIGN

Two cohort studies were conducted at 6 hospitals in Taiwan.

METHODS

A candidate item bank (44 items) was developed, and 643 outpatients were interviewed. An item response theory model was fitted to the data and estimated the item parameters (eg, difficulty and discrimination) for developing the ADL CAT. Another sample of 51 outpatients was interviewed to examine the concurrent validity and efficiency of the CAT. The ADL CAT, as the outcome measure, and the Barthel index (BI) and Frenchay Activities index (FAI) were administered on the second group of participants.

RESULTS

Ten items did not satisfy the model's expectations and were deleted. Thirty-four items were included in the final item bank. Two stopping rules (ie, reliability coefficient >.9 and maximum test length of 7 items) were set for the CAT. The participants' ADL scores had an average reliability of .93. The CAT scores were highly associated with those of the full 34 items (Pearson r=.98). The scores of the CAT were closely correlated with those of the combined BI and FAI (r=.82). The time required to complete the CAT was about one fifth of the time used to administer both the BI and FAI.

LIMITATIONS

The participants were outpatients living in the community. Further studies are needed to cross-validate the results.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrated that the ADL CAT is quick to administer, reliable, and valid in outpatients with stroke.