ICU Mobility Scale translation to French and validation

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Assessment Tools
• Intensive Care Unit Management

Background:

• The ICU Mobility Scale (IMS) is a validated instrument for assessing patient mobility in intensive care settings.
• Early mobilization in ICUs is crucial for patient recovery and reducing complications.
• A French version of the IMS was needed to facilitate its use in French-speaking intensive care units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To translate the ICU Mobility Scale (IMS) into French, creating the IMS-FR.
• To assess the inter-rater reliability of the IMS-FR among various healthcare professionals in French ICUs.
• To evaluate the suitability of the IMS-FR for French clinical practices and its alignment with existing mobility assessment approaches.

Main Methods:

• A structured translation process was employed to develop the IMS-FR, with semantic validation by the original IMS author.
• A multicentric prospective study involving six French ICUs assessed inter-rater reliability using Kendall's W and weighted kappa.
• Six assessors (physiotherapists, nurses, physicians) evaluated 92 patients, and 30 additional physiotherapists provided feedback on clinical practice alignment.

Main Results:

• The IMS-FR demonstrated excellent overall inter-rater reliability (Kendall's W = 0.90).
• High weighted kappa values were observed within professional groups (0.80–0.97) and between different professional groups (0.82–0.89).
• Feedback from French physiotherapists indicated strong alignment of IMS-FR items with their clinical practices.

Conclusions:

• The IMS-FR is a reliable and valid tool for assessing patient mobility in French ICUs.
• The availability of IMS-FR supports the implementation of early mobilization protocols and enhances communication among multidisciplinary teams.
• Further research is recommended to explore other psychometric properties and the impact of IMS-FR on ICU rehabilitation practices.