The A-test: Reliability of functional recovery assessment during early rehabilitation of patients in an orthopedic ward
Background/Aim. There are few tests for evaluation of functional abilities of patients surgically treated for hip fractures or osteoarthritis during early rehabilition period. The aim of this study was to investigate reliability (interobserver reproducibility and internal consistency) of th...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, Belgrade
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2014/0042-84501300042V.pdf |
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| Summary: | Background/Aim. There are few tests for evaluation of functional abilities of
patients surgically treated for hip fractures or osteoarthritis during early
rehabilition period. The aim of this study was to investigate reliability
(interobserver reproducibility and internal consistency) of the A-test, an
original test for functional recovery evaluation during early rehabilitation
of patients in an orthopedic ward. Methods. The investigation included 105
patients (55 patients with hip osteoarthritis that underwent arthroplasty and
50 surgically treated patients with hip fracture). It was conducted in an
orthopedic ward during early inpatient rehabilitation (from 1st to 5th day).
For their functional recovery evaluation during early rehabilitation we used
the A-test, a performance-based test with 10 items for assessing basic
activities by six level ordinal scale (0-5). For internal consistency of the
test the Cronbach coefficient alpha was calculated for the A-test results
collected during early rehabilitation for all patients (105 patients x 5 days
= 525 measures) and separately for the results of patients with hip
osteoarthritis (275 measures) and hip fracture (250 measures). Values of this
coefficient > 0.7 imply good internal consistency of the test. Interobserver
reproducibility was estimated as follows: two physiotherapists together
conducted physical therapy with the patients, and then, separately, rated the
performance of each activity from the test (78 measures). The agreement
between their estimations was expressed by the linear weighted kappa
coefficient (for very good agreement values of kappa coefficient have to be
in the range 0.81-1). Results. The Cronbach coefficient alpha was 0.98 (the
results of all the patients and the results of the patients with hip
osteoarthritis) and 0.97 (the results of the patients with hip fracture). The
values of kappa coefficient were in the range 0.81-0.92 for all items.
Conclusion. The A-test is a reliable instrument for everyday evaluation of
functional recovery during early rehabilitation of patients surgically
treated in an orthopedic ward. |
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| ISSN: | 0042-8450 |