title: Construction and pilot assessment of the Upper Limb Assessment in Daily Living Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The upper limb function of hemiplegic patients is currently evaluated using scales that assess physical capacity or daily activities under test conditions. The present scale, the Upper Limb Assessment in Daily Living (ULADL) Scale, was developed to explore the subjective and objective functional capacities of such patients in a proximal to distal sequence.
  
  
  METHODS
  A group of experts constructed a scale addressing 17 upper limb functions (five active passive and 12 active) which could be explored by a questionnaire (Q) and a test (T). Reproducibility, internal consistency, concurrent validity (Rivermead Motor Assessment (RMA)) and learning effect were estimated in a multicentre study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  49 stroke patients were each rated three times within 7 days by a total of 21 physicians, yielding a total of 142 ratings. The ULADL took 16±8 min to complete compared with 9±5 min for the RMA. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.95 for Q and 0.97 for the practical tests (T). The global Q and T scores, and in particular the global Q score, were slightly higher at the second rating. The intra-rater intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.65 (95% CI (0.44 to 0.79)) for Q and 0.97 (0.95 to 0.98) for T, and the inter-rater ICC was 0.95 for both Q and T. The Bland and Altman method showed good intra- and inter-rater reliability with no systematic trend. Correlation coefficients for ULADL versus RMA were >0.80 for both Q and T.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ULADL Scale has good psychometric properties and can explore patients with different degrees of upper limb impairment.
authors.affiliation: Service de Rééducation Neurologique, Hôpital Swynghedauw, CHRU, Lille Cedex, France. marc.rousseaux@chru-lille.fr
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rousseaux
authors.forename: Huei-Yune
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Bonnin-Koang
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Darné
authors.forename: Phillippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marque
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Parratte
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schnitzler
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dehail
authors.forename: Nacera
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bradai
authors.forename: Jean Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Viton
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Daveluy
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yelnik
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zadikian
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benaïm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*