The reliability of balance, mobility and self-care measures in a population of adults with a learning disability known to a physiotherapy service.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the reliability of three measures of balance, mobility and activity for use in clinical and research physiotherapy, with adults with a learning disability.


METHODS
Prospective study to investigate test-retest and inter-rater reliability.


METHODS
Participants' homes and day centres.


METHODS
The Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) and the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index (BI).


METHODS
Of the 181 adults known to the Nottingham Community Physiotherapy Service for Adults with Learning Disabilities, 64 with a known Rivermead Mobility score of less than three were excluded. Of 117 randomized, a further 21 were found to fail this criteria, 27 had acute medical, social or behavioural problems, 22 were unable to participate or refused: therefore 47 entered the study.


METHODS
Participants were visited in their own homes by two researchers on two occasions, one week apart and rated independently by each rater. Agreement was assessed with the kappa statistic (kappa) and percentage agreement for each item in each scale, and described using standard classification. Intraclass correlation coefficients for inter-rater and test-retest total scores and average differences of total scores, their standard deviations and limits of agreement, were calculated.


RESULTS
For inter-rater observations, the Barthel Index and the Rivermead Mobility Index had almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.86-1.00 and 0.89-1.00 respectively), with the Berg Balance Scale having substantial to almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.74-1.00). For test-retest comparisons, both the Barthel Index and the Rivermead Mobility Index demonstrated moderate to almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.57-1.00 and 0.45-1.00 respectively). Kappa scores for the Berg Balance Scale varied from low to almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.37-1.00).


CONCLUSIONS
The Berg Balance Scale, Rivermead Mobility Index and Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index are all reliable clinical and research tools for physiotherapists working with adults with learning disabilities.
Sackley
Cath
C
School of Health Sciences, University of Birmingham, 52 Pritchatts Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. C.M.Sackley@Bham.ac.uk
Richardson
Patricia
P
McDonnell
Karen
K
Ratib
Sonia
S
Dewey
Michael
M
Hill
Helen J
HJ
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D015588:Observer Variation; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D004856:Postural Balance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D006113:United Kingdom