Validating the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement for Dizziness and Imbalance (COSIDI)

Area of Science:

• Vestibular rehabilitation
• Patient-reported outcome measures
• Clinical assessment tools

Background:

• Assessing vestibular rehabilitation progress is challenging in time-limited clinical settings.
• Existing tools may not fully capture patient-specific goals.
• Patient involvement is crucial for effective rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test a new brief tool, the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement for Dizziness and Imbalance (COSIDI), for measuring vestibular rehabilitation progress.
• To evaluate the validity and clinical utility of COSIDI.
• To compare COSIDI with existing measures like the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefit Questionnaire (VRBQ).

Main Methods:

• The COSIDI was developed with patient and clinician feedback.
• Validation involved comparison with DHI and VRBQ in 91 outpatients across three clinical settings.
• Data collection occurred during routine clinical appointments.

Main Results:

• COSIDI demonstrated comparable effect sizes to DHI and VRBQ.
• COSIDI scores showed high correlation with existing measures (r=0.73).
• Clinicians found COSIDI useful, appropriate, patient-focused, brief, and supportive of goal-setting.

Conclusions:

• The COSIDI is a valid tool for assessing vestibular rehabilitation.
• It can be used independently or alongside other assessment tools.
• COSIDI provides valuable prompts for patients to consider during rehabilitation.