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A new stroke activity scale-results of a reliability study
N F Horgan1, A M Finn, M O'Regan
1School of Physiotherapy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. fhorgan@rcsi.ie
Disability and Rehabilitation
|March 8, 2003
Summary
The Stroke Activity Scale (SAS) demonstrates excellent reliability for assessing motor function in stroke patients. This reliable tool offers a quick and easy method for evaluating disability levels in clinical settings.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Clinical Assessment Tools
Background:
- Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability.
- Accurate assessment of motor function is crucial for effective stroke rehabilitation.
- Existing tools may require further validation for specific patient populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the internal consistency and inter-rater/intra-rater reliability of the Stroke Activity Scale (SAS).
- To determine the suitability of the SAS as a measure of motor disability in stroke survivors.
- To establish the psychometric properties of the SAS for clinical use.
Main Methods:
- Twelve stroke patients were video-recorded performing activities from the SAS.
- Seven experienced physiotherapists independently rated the recordings twice, three weeks apart.
- Reliability was assessed using generalizability correlation coefficients (GCC) and kappa statistics.
Main Results:
- Excellent reliability was found for total SAS scores (GCC ≥ 0.95).
- Good reliability was observed for individual item scores (kappa ≥ 0.7).
- Internal consistency was good, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.68 at both time points.
Conclusions:
- The Stroke Activity Scale is a reliable instrument for assessing hospital stroke patients.
- The SAS is efficient, administrable in under 10 minutes with minimal resources.
- Further research is ongoing to establish the validity and responsiveness of the SAS.