Development of an assessment form for the performance of public transportation use in individuals with stroke

To develop a new assessment form that is assessed by therapists for the performance of public transportation use for stroke survivors through content validation.

The items for the tentative assessment form were selected using hierarchical clustering analysis on previous records of 76 field-based training sessions for public transportation use for stroke survivors. After the modification of the tentative form based on 6 months of clinical use, the final form was developed through content validation using the Delphi method by 71 therapists who had been working at the hospital for more than 2 years and had experience with training for public transportation use.

The Public Transportation use Assessment Form (PTAF) for stroke was successfully developed through three validation processes. It consists of four categories (plan for going out, mobility, using trains, and using buses) including 15 items that cover various tasks of public transportation use. The scoring for each was as follows: 3, independent; 2, requires supervision of verbal assistance; 1, requires assistance; and N, not applicable.

The PTAF, developed through content validation, could assess the ability of public transportation use, and identify specific problems for each stroke survivor in clinical setting.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONWe developed the Public Transportation use Assessment Form (PTAF) to assess the ability of stroke survivors to use public transportation.The PTAF could identify specific problems related to public transportation use for stroke survivors and aid in planning rehabilitation programs based on the results.The PTAF could share information about which task need support in public transportation use and could augment the hospital discharge plan.