Disability assessment by a single rater or a team: a comparative study with the Catz-Itzkovich spinal cord independence measure.
The Catz-Itzkovich Spinal Cord Independence Measure was found to be reliable and more sensitive than the FIM to functional changes, when used by a multidisciplinary team. This study was performed to find out whether assessment may be similar when done by a single rater. Twenty-eight patients with spinal cord lesions participated in the study, in which examinations performed within a week by a single nurse or a team were compared for correlation, differences and agreement. The team members scored their relevant fields. A significant correlation was found between the nurse's scoring and that of physiotherapists and occupational therapists (r = 0.82-0.94; p < 0.0001), and the differences between the mean scores were small. The agreement between raters was modest, however (total agreement 38-90%, Kappa 0.17-0.73). It was concluded that although disability assessment performed by a single nurse may not be as accurate as by a multidisciplinary team, it could be reliable and valid.
Catz
Amiram
A
Department IV, Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, Raanana, Israel. amiramc@clalit.org.il
Itzkovich
Malka
M
Steinberg
Flavia
F
Philo
Ora
O
Ring
Haim
H
Ronen
Jacob
J
Spasser
Raluca
R
Gepstein
Reuven
R
Tamir
Ada
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology