title: Robinson Bashall Functional Assessment for arthritis patients: reliability and validity.
abstract: The Robinson Bashall Functional Assessment (RBFA) for arthritis patients has four scales: self-care, ambulation, transportation, and activity tolerance. Criticism has been directed at the Assessment because it is relatively time consuming and requires a trained professional to conduct it. Tests of reliability revealed that the internal consistency of the total Assessment was moderate, interrater reliability was high, and test-retest reliability ranged from moderate to high. Analysis of scale validity (content, clinical, concurrent, and discriminant validity) showed content validity to be low to moderate. Therapists found the scales more useful in identifying patient problems than in assessing improvement in function over time. There were low positive correlations between dressing, undressing, and ambulation scores and ROM scores on admission. Correlations between the American Rheumatism Association Functional Classification and scales of the RBFA were significant, while the Assessment as a whole and all four scales discriminated significantly between the functional abilities of patients on admission and discharge.
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012648:Self Care; D014186:Transportation