Construction and pilot assessment of the Lower Limb Function Assessment Scale

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Stroke frequently causes impairments in upright standing and walking.
• Current clinical assessments often lack ecological relevance and patient-reported outcomes.
• There is a need for comprehensive tools to evaluate post-stroke lower limb function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a pilot assessment of the psychometric properties of the Lower Limb-Function Assessment Scale (LL-FAS).
• To evaluate the reliability, validity, and feasibility of the LL-FAS in stroke survivors.

Main Methods:

• The LL-FAS, comprising 30 items, assesses patient and examiner perceptions of lower limb function and its impact on daily activities.
• Psychometric properties analyzed include reliability (intra- and inter-observer), construct validity, internal consistency, predictive validity, and feasibility.
• Thirty-five stroke patients participated in the study.

Main Results:

• The LL-FAS demonstrated good to excellent intra-observer reliability (ICC >0.82) and moderate inter-observer reliability (0.67 < ICC < 0.9).
• Excellent construct validity was found for various functional measures, including neuromotor disabilities, postural ability, gait severity, walking ability, and functional level.
• Internal consistency (Cronbach-α >0.9) and predictive validity were excellent.

Conclusions:

• The Lower Limb-Function Assessment Scale (LL-FAS) exhibited fair psychometric properties in this pilot investigation.
• The LL-FAS shows potential as a valuable tool for assessing lower limb impairments in individuals recovering from stroke.