title: Reliability of the revised functional autonomy measurement system (SMAF) for epidemiological research.
abstract: The Functional Autonomy Measurement System (SMAF) is an instrument designed to assess disabilities related to 29 functions with a four-point scale (from 0: independent to -3: dependent). For epidemiological studies, a total score and five sub-scores can be obtained. A revised version was developed adding a -0.5 level to many items to indicate an activity accomplished independently but with difficulty. The objective of the study was to verify the test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the total score and sub-scores of the SMAF. Ninety subjects were randomly recruited in nine different residential settings ranging from home to long-term-care hospitals. Half of the subjects were assessed by the same nurse within a 2-week interval (test-retest) and the other half were assessed twice by two different nurses within the same interval (inter-rater). Results show intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) of 0.95 and 0.96 for the total scores on test-retest and inter-rater reliability, respectively. The ICC were over 0.74 for all sub-scores for both types of reliability. A small systematic bias was present for two SMAF subscores on the inter-rater reliability. The addition of a new level did not modify the reliability of the scale.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche en gérontologie et gériatrie, Hôpital D'Youville de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desrosiers
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bravo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dubuc
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D013223:Statistics as Topic