The wheelchair circuit: construct validity and responsiveness of a test to assess manual wheelchair mobility in persons with spinal cord injury 1 1No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this articl

Abstract

Kilkens OJ, Dallmeijer AJ, de Witte LP, van der Woude LH, Post MW. The Wheelchair Circuit: construct validity and responsiveness of a test to assess manual wheelchair mobility in persons with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85:424–31.OBJECTIVETo assess the validity and responsiveness of the Wheelchair Circuit, a test to assess manual wheelchair mobility in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).DESIGNLongitudinal. Subjects performed the Wheelchair Circuit at the start (T1) and at the end (T3) of inpatient functional rehabilitation. Construct validity and responsiveness were assessed.SETTINGEight rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands.PARTICIPANTSSeventy-four subjects with SCI admitted for inpatient rehabilitation.INTERVENTIONSNot applicable.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURESThe Wheelchair Circuit consists of 8 wheelchair skills and results in 3 test scores: ability, performance time, and physical strain. The construct validity of the Wheelchair Circuit was assessed by testing whether the test scores were significantly related to the subjects’ functional status, physical capacity, lesion level, motor completeness of the lesion, and age. To prove the test’s responsiveness, it was assessed whether the test scores had significantly improved between T1 and T3.RESULTSFor construct validity, 4 of the 5 hypotheses were confirmed. For test responsiveness, all 3 test scores had significantly improved during rehabilitation, and the standardized response mean values ranged from 0.6 to 0.9.CONCLUSIONSThe Wheelchair Circuit is a valid and responsive instrument with which to measure manual wheelchair mobility in subjects with SCI.