Development of a tool to guide referral of patients with neuromuscular disorders to allied health services. Part two.
OBJECTIVE
The Perceived Limitations and Needs Questionnaire (PLAN-Q) was developed to guide referral for a one-off consultation by occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and speech therapy (ST) consultation, to provide a tailor-made advice on allied health interventions. This article reports on the testing of validity and reliability of the PLAN-Q.


METHODS
In the validation study, 208 patients with a broad spectrum of neuromuscular disorders completed the PLAN-Q, Medical Outcome Study short-form 36-item version (SF-36), and the Impact of Participation on Autonomy (IPA) questionnaires. A subsection of 51 patients, whose physical condition was stable, participated in the evaluation of the intra-rater reliability of the questionnaire. The theoretical construct was tested with factorial analysis, subscales were constructed and reliability and validity of the PLAN-Q subscales were assessed.


RESULTS
Factorial analysis resulted in an 18-item self-report questionnaire. Items were grouped into four subscales ('physical capacity', 'transferring', 'oropharyngeal capacity', and 'hand-use'), each with two dimensions ('capacity' and 'need for help'). The internal consistency of all subscales was good (Cronbach's alpha: 0.77-0.94) as well as the intra-rater reliability of the subscales 'physical capacity' and 'transferring' in the 'capacity' dimension (Kappa: 0.70-0.75). The 'need' dimension showed poor intra-rater reliability suggesting that 'need for help' is a variable phenomenon that changes between two points of measurement. The construct validity of the subscales against the SF-36 and the IPA was satisfactory.


CONCLUSIONS
The PLAN-Q is a valid self-report instrument that measures patients' perception of capacity and needs in domains relevant to referral for a one-off OT, PT, or ST consultation.
Pieterse
Allan J
AJ
Research Centre for Allied Health Sciences, The Netherlands. a.pieterse@pmd.umcn.nl
Cup
Edith H C
EH
Knuijt
Simone
S
Akkermans
Reinier
R
Hendricks
Henk T
HT
van Engelen
Baziel G M
BG
van der Wilt
Gert-Jan
GJ
Oostendorp
Rob A B
RA
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires