Measurement reliability of functional tasks for persons who self-propel a manual wheelchair.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the reliability of 4 functional tasks relevant to wheelchair seating. DESIGN Within-subject and between-rater comparisons. SETTING Rehabilitation center in Canada. PARTICIPANTS Two separate convenience samples of 10 male wheelchair users. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The 4 functional tasks were timed forward wheeling, ramp ascent, forward vertical reach distance, and ramp descent, scored by an ordinal performance scale. To determine test-retest reliability, the participants performed each task twice on the same day. To determine interrater reliability, 5 experienced therapists independently scored each participant. The ramp descent task was replaced with a 1-stroke push distance task due to difficulties with the interpretation of the ordinal performance scale. RESULTS Testing of all tasks was completed within 45 minutes, allowing for rest periods. There were no adverse incidents. One individual with C6 quadriplegia 4 months after spinal cord injury was unable to complete the ramp ascent. Estimates for test-retest reliability of all 4 functional tasks were excellent (r=.99). Interrater reliability was calculated for all tasks except the 1-stroke push and found to be excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient=.99). CONCLUSIONS The final 4 functional tasks are practical, safe, and reliable tests that may be used for clinical evaluation of wheelchair seating. Further research involving comparative assessments of wheelchair seating options is required to determine the discriminative ability of the tests.