Validity and reliability of the functional test for hemiplegic upper Extremity-Thai version

There are very few standard instruments currently available for measuring upper extremity (UE) functions for patients with stroke in Thailand.

This study aims to examine the concurrent validity, construct validity, and stability reliability of the Functional Test for Hemiplegic Upper Extremity (FTHUE)-Thai version for patients with stroke.

Thirty hemiplegic participants from five community rehabilitation centers in Chiang Mai province and 30 healthy subjects were recruited. The FTHUE-Thai version and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) were the instruments used. Concurrent validity was determined by investigating the relationship between the FTHUE-Thai version and the FMA-UE. Construct validity was investigated by comparing the performance of FTHUE-Thai version between stroke participants and healthy subjects. The stability reliability of the FTHUE-Thai version, which measured the UE function of stroke participants twice in a two-week's period, was also investigated. The statistics used were Spearman's correlation coefficient and the Mann-Whitney test.

There were significant correlations between the UE function, as measured by the FTHUE-Thai version, and the arm, and hand sub-scores, as well as the total scores of the FMA-UE (r = 0.93, r = 0.84, and r = 0.95, respectively), indicating good concurrent validity. Stability reliability was also good (r = 0.98, weighted kappa = 0.94). A known group technique test revealed significantly different scores between stroke patients and healthy subjects (p < .001), indicating good construct validity.

The FTHUE-Thai version could be a reliable measurement tool for the UE function in stroke patients in the Thai context.