Using compensations to assess physical performance for ambulatory outpatients.

Area of Science:

• Physical therapy
• Rehabilitation science
• Outcome measurement

Background:

• Assessing physical performance in ambulatory outpatients requires tools that capture high-level functioning and common compensatory strategies.
• Existing scales may not adequately address the nuances of mobility difficulties in community-dwelling individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and validate the Community Ambulatory Physical Performance Scale (CAPPS) for community-dwelling ambulatory outpatients.
• To create a linear scale that includes high-functioning tasks and common compensations to assess physical performance difficulty levels.

Main Methods:

• Development of the CAPPS using Rasch analysis on 19 calibrated tasks.
• Data collection included examiner ratings, timing, and recording of compensations for 50 mobility-impaired outpatients.
• Validation involved correlation with the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) and the six-minute walk test (6MWT).

Main Results:

• The CAPPS demonstrated construct validity after item refinement, with high person (0.89) and item (0.98) reliability.
• Significant correlations were found between CAPPS scores and the 6MWT (r=0.79) and LEFS (r=0.62).
• Two items were removed to enhance clinical utility.

Conclusions:

• The CAPPS is a psychometrically sound tool for assessing higher-level physical functioning in ambulatory outpatients.
• The scale's ability to articulate compensatory strategies offers a promising approach for targeted intervention planning.
• The CAPPS provides a standardized method for evaluating physical performance and mobility challenges.