title: Measuring Access to Information and Technology: Environmental Factors Affecting Persons With Neurologic Disorders.
abstract: To develop and validate a patient-reported measure of access to information and technology (AIT) for persons with spinal cord injury, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.
  
  
  
  A mixed-methods approach was used to develop items, refine them through cognitive interviews, and evaluate their psychometric properties. Item responses were evaluated with the Rasch rating scale model. Correlational and analysis-of-variance methods were used to evaluate construct validity.
  
  
  
  Community-dwelling individuals participated in telephone interviews or traveled to the academic medical centers where this research took place.
  
  
  
  Individuals with a diagnosis of spinal cord injury, stroke, or traumatic brain injury (aged ≥18y, English speaking) participated in cognitive interviews (n=12 persons), field testing of the items (n=305 persons), and validation testing of the final set of items (n=604 persons).
  
  
  
  Not applicable.
  
  
  
  A set of items to measure AIT for people with disabilities.
  
  
  
  A user-friendly multimedia touchscreen was used for self-administration of the items. A 23-item AIT measure demonstrated good evidence of internal consistency reliability, and content and construct validity.
  
  
  
  This new AIT measure will enable researchers and clinicians to determine to what extent environmental factors influence health outcomes and social participation in people with disabilities. The AIT measure could also provide disability advocates with more specific and detailed information about environmental factors to lobby for elimination of barriers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences and Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. Electronic address: e-hahn@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences and Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Sofia F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences and Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Jin-Shei
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miskovic
authors.affiliation: Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jerousek
authors.affiliation: Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Semik
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy and Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Allen W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Heinemann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003201:Computers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D064702:International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D058992:Social Participation; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: Access to information; Attitude to computers; Patient outcome assessment; Rehabilitation