Development and preliminary assessment of the measurement properties of the Seating Identification Tool (SIT).
OBJECTIVE
To present and discuss the development and measurement properties of the Seating Identification Tool (SIT), a screening tool designed to identify the need for formal seating and wheelchair intervention among institutionalized elderly. Specifically, investigation of the inter-rater and test-retest reliability, sensitivity, specificity, the positive and negative predictive values of the SIT was conducted.


METHODS
A two-week retest design.


METHODS
A long-term care facility in London, Ontario, Canada.


METHODS
Forty-two randomly selected residents with an average age of 83 years who had a disability and required the use of a wheelchair as their main mode of mobility.


METHODS
Two health care assistants from a long-term facility collected data using the SIT. One rater assessed all subjects two weeks later to evaluate test-retest reliability. Diagnostic properties (validity) were determined by having all subjects assessed by a seating therapist.


METHODS
The SIT and formal evaluation by a therapist experienced in seating.


RESULTS
The ICC for both test-retest and inter-rater reliability was 0.83. A cut-off score of 2 maximized the sensitivity (100%) and specificity (64% and 57% for raters 1 and 2 respectively) and the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (0.855 and 0.862 for raters 1 and 2). The positive and negative predictive values ranged from 82 to 100%.


CONCLUSIONS
The SIT is a quick, easy to use, reliable and valid screening tool that can be used to facilitate clinical referral for formal intervention. Other potential uses include population-based surveys to estimate the need for including seating intervention in strategic planning for the institutionalized elderly.
Miller
William C
WC
School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Canada. bcmiller@telus.net
Miller
Francine
F
Trenholm
Karen
K
Grant
Desiree
D
Goodman
Kristen
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014910:Wheelchairs