TY - JOUR A1 - Prodinger, Birgit A1 - Ballert, C. S. A1 - Cieza, A. T1 - Setting up a cohort study of functioning: From classification to measurement JF - Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine N2 - Objective: Cohort studies are an appropriate method for the collection of population-based longitudinal data to track people's health and functioning over time. However, describing and understanding functioning in its complexity with all its determinants is one of the biggest challenges faced by clinicians and researchers. Design: This paper focuses on the development of a cohort study on functioning, outlining the relevant steps and related methods, and illustrating these with reference to the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI). Methods and results: In setting up a cohort study the initial step is to specify which variables are to be included, i.e. what to assess. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is valuable in this process. The second step is to identify how to assess the specified ICF categories. Existing instruments and assessments can then be linked to the ICF. Conclusion: The methods outlined here enable the development of a cohort study to be based on a comprehensive perspective of health, operationalized through functioning as conceptualized and classified in the ICF, yet to remain efficient and feasible to administer. KW - Disability and health KW - Cohort study KW - Epidemiology KW - International classification of functioning KW - Standardized Reporting Y1 - 2016 UR - https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-2030 VL - 48 IS - 2 SP - 131 EP - 140 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prodinger, Birgit A1 - Ballert, C. S. A1 - Brach, M. A1 - Brinkhof, M. W. G. A1 - Cieza, A. A1 - Hug, K. A1 - Jordan, X. A1 - Post, M. W. M. A1 - Scheel-Sailer, A. A1 - Schubert, M. A1 - Tennant, A. A1 - Stucki, G. T1 - Toward standardized reporting for a cohort study on functioning: The Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study JF - Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine N2 - Objective: Functioning is an important outcome to measure in cohort studies. Clear and operational outcomes are needed to judge the quality of a cohort study. This paper outlines guiding principles for reporting functioning in cohort studies and addresses some outstanding issues. Design: Principles of how to standardize reporting of data from a cohort study on functioning, by deriving scores that are most useful for further statistical analysis and reporting, are outlined. The Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study Community Survey serves as a case in point to provide a practical application of these principles. Methods and Results: Development of reporting scores must be conceptually coherent and metrically sound. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can serve as the frame of reference for this, with its categories serving as reference units for reporting. To derive a score for further statistical analysis and reporting, items measuring a single latent trait must be invariant across groups. The Rasch measurement model is well suited to test these assumptions. Conclusion: Our approach is a valuable guide for researchers and clinicians, as it fosters comparability of data, strengthens the comprehensiveness of scope, and provides invariant, interval-scaled data for further statistical analyses of functioning. KW - Comparability KW - Epidemiology KW - Health information systems KW - Informed decision-making KW - Rasch analysis Y1 - 2016 UR - https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-2026 VL - 48 IS - 2 SP - 189 EP - 196 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prodinger, Birgit A1 - Ballert, C.S. A1 - Brinkof, M. W. G. A1 - Tennant, A. A1 - Post, M. W. M. T1 - Metric properties of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure - Self Report in a community survey JF - Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine N2 - Objective: The Spinal Cord Independence Measure – Self Report (SCIM-SR) is a self-report instrument for assessing functional independence of persons with spinal cord injury. This study examined the internal construct validity and reliability of the SCIM-SR, when administered in a community survey, using the Rasch measurement model. Methods: Rasch analysis of data from 1,549 individuals with spinal cord injury who completed the SCIM-SR. Results: In the initial analysis no fit to the Rasch model was achieved. Items were grouped into testlets to accommodate the substantial local dependency. Due to the differential item functioning for lesion level and degree, spinal cord injury-specific sub-group analyses were conducted. Fit to the Rasch model was then achieved for individuals with tetraplegia and complete paraplegia, but not for those with incomplete paraplegia. Comparability of ability estimates across sub-groups was attained by anchoring all sub-groups on a testlet. Conclusion: The SCIM-SR violates certain assumptions of the Rasch measurement model, as shown by the local dependency and differential item functioning. However, an intermediate solution to achieve fit in 3 out of 4 spinal cord injury sub-groups was found. For the time being, therefore, it advisable to use this approach to compute Rasch-transformed SCIM-SR scores. KW - Functional status KW - Independence KW - Psychometrics KW - Reliability KW - Spinal cord injury Y1 - 2016 UR - https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-2059 VL - 48 IS - 2 SP - 149 EP - 164 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ballert, C.S. A1 - Hopfe, M. A1 - Kus, M. A1 - Mader, L. A1 - Prodinger, Birgit T1 - Using the refined ICF Linking Rules to compare the content of existing instruments and assessments: a systematic review and exemplary analysis of instruments measuring participation. JF - Disability and Rehabilitation N2 - Background: Existing instruments measuring participation may vary with respect to various aspects. This study aimed to examine the comparability of existing instruments measuring participation based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) by considering aspects of content, the perspective adopted and the categorization of response options. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify instruments that have been commonly used to measure participation. Concepts of identified instruments were then linked to the ICF following the refined ICF Linking Rules. Aspects of content, perspective adopted and categorization of response options were documented. Results: Out of 315 instruments identified in the full-text screening, 41 instruments were included. Concepts of six instruments were linked entirely to the ICF component Activities and Participation; of 10 instruments still 80% of their concepts. A descriptive perspective was adopted in most items across instruments (75%), mostly in combination with an intensity rating. An appraisal perspective was found in 18% and questions from a need or dependency perspective were least frequent (7%). Conclusion: Accounting for aspects of content, perspective and categorization of responses in the linking of instruments to the ICF provides detailed information for the comparison of instruments and guidance on narrowing down the choices of suitable instruments from a content point of view. Implications for Rehabilitation For clinicians and researchers who need to identify a specific instrument for a given purpose, the findings of this review can serve as a screening tool for instruments measuring participation in terms of the following: • Their content covered based on the ICF. • The perspective adopted in the instrument (e.g., descriptive, need/dependency or appraisal). • The categorization of their response options (e.g., intensity or frequency). KW - Comparability KW - International Classification of Functioning KW - Disability and health KW - Outcome measures Y1 - 2019 UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1198433 VL - 41 IS - 5 SP - 584 EP - 600 ER -