Evaluation of psychometric properties of the activities of daily living scale of motor function used by caregivers using Rasch analysis.
Toshikatsu Kaneda, Shinichi Takabatake, Yasuhiro Higashi and 7 others
PMID 32158078WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers can reliably assess a patient's need for help with daily tasks using a simplified 4-point scale.
The original 7-point scale had categories that were too hard to distinguish, but collapsing them created a valid tool for tracking recovery after discharge.
Key findings
01The original 7-point rating scale was statistically unstable because caregivers could not reliably distinguish between several middle categories, such as 'supervision' and 'mild care'.
02Collapsing the scale into four categories (complete care, partial care, physical care, no care) resolved these issues and created a reliable measure.
03The item 'bladder management' did not fit the statistical model, but it was retained because it is clinically essential for determining care needs.
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 study was conducted in a single rehabilitation hospital in Japan, so the results may not apply to other cultural or healthcare settings. The sample included patients with various conditions (stroke, bone disease, disuse syndrome), but the analysis did not check if the scale worked differently for each group. The scale only measures motor function and does not assess cognitive abilities, which are often a major factor in ADL independence. The study validated the prototype (SAB-M-P) but did not test the final version (SAB-M) for intra-rater reliability or criterion-related validity against other established measures.
Declared interests
The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this scale is ready for immediate clinical use as a standard outcome measure. It is a prototype that has only been validated in a specific Japanese rehabilitation population, and its ability to track changes over time or compare against other tools like the FIM has not yet been tested.