Feasibility and informativeness of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale with patients with Parkinson's disease

Introduction: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and informativeness of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) for identifying activities that persons with Parkinson disease (PD) self-identified as difficult.Method: Informativeness was investigated by cross-referencing the identified activities with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Twenty-eight individuals with PD (Hoehn & Yahr stage 1-4) completed the PSFS. Activities identified by the participants were classified according to the ICF and then cross-referenced across the MDS-UPDRS and PDQ-39.Results: Participants identified 98 specific (60 different) activities that they were unable to do or were having difficulty with as a result of PD. Activities most frequently listed as difficult included some aspect of fine hand use, dressing, eating, or changing position (e.g. transferring). All activities could be classified using the ICF, but many were not addressed specifically by the MDS-UPDRS or PDQ-39.Conclusion: We conclude that the PSFS can be used for identifying activities that persons with PD personally find difficult and may be useful as a compliment to the MDS-UPDRS and PDQ-39.