Reliability and Validity of the Revised Transfer Assessment Instrument

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Biomechanics
• Clinical Assessment

Background:

• Proper wheelchair transfer technique is crucial for improving biomechanics and reducing pain.
• Deficits in transfer technique are common, necessitating effective assessment and training tools.
• Previous versions of the Transfer Assessment Instrument (TAI) required clinician training and longer administration times.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Transfer Assessment Instrument (TAI) 4.0.
• To determine the reliability and validity of the TAI 4.0 for assessing wheelchair transfers.
• To establish TAI 4.0 as an improved, user-friendly alternative to previous versions.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of 44 full-time wheelchair users participated.
• Four raters assessed participants' transfers using the TAI 4.0.
• Interrater, intrarater, and test-retest reliability were assessed, alongside concurrent validity with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

Main Results:

• TAI 4.0 demonstrated good interrater reliability (ICC 0.80-0.85) and acceptable intrarater (0.60-0.76) and test-retest (0.55-0.76) reliability.
• TAI 4.0 scores correlated significantly with VAS scores (r = 0.52-0.7).
• The Minimum Detectable Change (MDC) for the total score ranged from 1.02 to 1.30, indicating sensitivity to change.

Conclusions:

• The TAI 4.0 is a reliable and valid tool for quantitative assessment of wheelchair transfers.
• The TAI 4.0 eliminates the need for extensive clinician training, unlike TAI 3.0.
• The TAI 4.0 can be administered in approximately 3 minutes in a clinical setting.