Development and Preliminary Reliability of the Functional Upper Extremity Levels (FUEL)

Area of Science:

• Neurorehabilitation
• Occupational Therapy
• Clinical Assessment Tools

Background:

• Stroke frequently impairs upper-extremity function, necessitating reliable assessment tools.
• Current tools may not fully capture the spectrum of functional and physical performance post-stroke.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop the Functional Upper Extremity Levels (FUEL) classification tool.
• To determine the content validity and interrater reliability of the FUEL tool.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase study involving 44 occupational therapists with varying experience levels.
• Phase 1: Construction of the FUEL tool and assessment of content validity.
• Phase 2: Ascertainment of interrater reliability using the developed FUEL tool.

Main Results:

• The FUEL tool demonstrated initial content validity.
• Substantial interrater reliability was achieved, with a Fleiss κ coefficient of .754.

Conclusions:

• The FUEL tool shows promise as a valuable instrument for occupational therapists in assessing and classifying upper-extremity function in stroke survivors.
• Further validation studies with larger cohorts and comparative analyses are recommended to solidify its reliability and validity.