Concurrent Validity and Reliability of the Transfer Assessment Instrument Questionnaire as a Self-Assessment Measure.
Lynn A Worobey, Stephanie K Rigot, Michael L Boninger and 4 others
PMID 33543111WHAT IT FOUND
Wheelchair users scoring their own transfers missed few deficits, often rating themselves lower than clinicians.
Total scores became acceptable only after watching video of their transfer. Use self-assessment to spot obvious errors, not to grade subtle movement quality.
Key findings
01Self-assessment scores improved to acceptable agreement with clinician ratings only after participants watched video of their own transfer.
02When participants disagreed with clinicians, they usually rated their own technique as worse, meaning the tool is unlikely to miss areas needing help.
03Agreement was poor for subtle movement items like landing stability, so the tool cannot reliably grade these aspects of transfer quality.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The participants were recruited from a wheelchair games event, so they were likely more skilled and active than typical patients. The study only evaluated transfers to a mat table, not other common surfaces like beds or commodes. Study staff measured some setup items for the participants, whereas in real life patients would have to estimate these themselves. Not all participants paid equal attention to the video feedback, which may have affected the results.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a patient's self-assessment score is an accurate reflection of their actual technique. Without video review, patients frequently score themselves differently than clinicians, and even with video, they cannot reliably judge subtle movements like landing stability.