title: Reliability and validity of the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique for Japanese individuals with spinal cord injury.
abstract: It is necessary and important to quantify the handicap sustained by individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, few instruments are available to measure the level of the disability. One of the best developed and most often used measures is the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART). Nevertheless, a Japanese version has not yet been developed and tested for SCI individuals. The purpose of this study was to develop a Japanese version of the CHART (CHART-J) and to investigate its test-retest reliability and discriminant validity in SCI in Japan. Fifty-four individuals with SCI participated in the test-retest reliability study and 293 participated in the discriminant validity analysis. We have shown that the test-retest reliability coefficients of the CHART-J range from 0.57 to 1.00. In addition, its discriminant validity is acceptable for individuals with SCI in Japan. Therefore, the CHART-J is useful as a measure of disability for Japanese individuals with SCI.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Science and Welfare, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University, Sendai 981-8551, Japan. lyra77@r6.dion.ne.jp
authors.forename: Fusae
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tozato
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tobimatsu
authors.forename: Chih-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwaya
authors.forename: Keigo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumamoto
authors.forename: Takehisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ushiyama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*