title: Measurement properties of the wheelchair outcome measure in individuals with spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  One-week retest methodological study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the reliability and validity of the wheelchair outcome measure (WhOM) in a sample of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  The WhOM measures the impact of wheelchair interventions on a user's self-selected participation outcomes. The WhOM was administered to 50 participants on two occasions by the same rater, 1 week apart, to assess test-retest reliability. To determine inter-rater reliability, the WhOM was administered a third time approximately 72 h later by a different rater. Validity was evaluated by correlating scores from the WhOM with scores from the Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2, 2)) for the WhOM satisfaction (Sat) and WhOM importance (Impt) × Sat scores were 0.83 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.72-0.90) and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.79-0.93), respectively. The inter-rater ICC for the WhOM Sat and WhOM Impt × Sat scores were 0.91 (95% CI, 0.85-0.95) and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83-0.94), respectively. As hypothesized, most scores on the WhOM were fair to moderate (r=0.3-0.5) and positively correlated with scores on the LIFE-H.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The WhOM is a new outcome measure that demonstrates good reliability and validity among individuals with SCI. It is designed to assist wheelchair users identify and evaluate the impact of wheelchair interventions on participation level outcomes. The WhOM may be applicable for clinical- or research-oriented purposes.
authors.affiliation: Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. bcmiller@telus.net
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garden
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Mortenson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends*