title: Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC): Reliability and Validity of a Measure to Assess Awareness in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness (PDOC) describes a population where a consciousness disorder has persisted for at least four weeks post injury but is still under investigation. Complex motor, sensory, communication, and cognitive impairments cause challenges with diagnosis, assessment, and intervention planning. Developing sensitive, reliable, and valid measures is a central concern. The auditory modality is the most sensitive for identifying awareness; however, the current standardized behavioral measures fail to provide adequate screening and measurement of auditory responsiveness. The Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC) is a recently standardized measure for assessment with PDOC; however, psychometric values for two of its subscales require examination.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the measurement characteristics and properties of the MATADOC subscales two and three.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a convenience sample of 21participants with PDOC, a prospective repeated measures study examined inter-rater reliability (IRR) and test-retest reliability (TRR) for both subscales and internal consistency of subscale two.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, the items from the MATADOC subscales two and three demonstrated good agreement across and within assessors, with some variability on two identified items.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MATADOC is a standardized measure for assessment of auditory responsiveness in PDOC. Psychometric limitations for the two identified items may have resulted from variations in music therapist clinical experience and training, leading to variations in the administration and interpretation of PDOC patient responses to these two MATADOC assessment items. Although its psychometric properties could be improved, the MATADOC's clinimetric properties make it a valuable assessment to guide clinical work for patients with PDOC.
authors.affiliation: Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, LondonSchool of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies and School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy, and RehabilitationEaling Music Therapy, London wmagee@temple.edu.
authors.forename: Wendy L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Magee
authors.affiliation: Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, LondonSchool of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies and School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy, and RehabilitationEaling Music Therapy, London.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Siegert
authors.affiliation: Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, LondonSchool of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies and School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy, and RehabilitationEaling Music Therapy, London.
authors.forename: Steve M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, LondonSchool of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies and School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy, and RehabilitationEaling Music Therapy, London.
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Daveson
authors.affiliation: Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, LondonSchool of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies and School of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy, and RehabilitationEaling Music Therapy, London.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lenton-Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001364:Awareness; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009147:Music Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: assessment; brain injuries; disorders of consciousness; minimally conscious state; music therapy; vegetative state