Relation of disability costs to function: spinal cord injury

This study evaluated the validity of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM instrument) in predicting (1) the number of minutes of daily assistance provided, (2) the cost of durable goods currently used, and (3) the number of paid helper hours provided daily to persons with spinal cord injury living in the community.

A cross-sectional study.

One hundred nine persons with spinal cord injury who were a median 6 years postdischarge from initial medical rehabilitation.

A significant inverse linear relationship was observed between FIM scores and the square root values of the three cost-related measures. The FIM-18 and the FIM motor scores were the best single predictors of the square root of minutes of assistance (paid and/or unpaid) per day, explaining 85% of variance. The FIM motor measure was the best single predictor of square root of cost of durable goods, explaining 29% of variance. The Self-Care, FIM motor, and FIM-18 scores equally predicted square root of hours of paid help per day, explaining 58% of variance.

The findings indicate FIM-related scores predict the amount of assistance needed and certain costs for persons with spinal cord injury disability.