Generation and content validation of mobility domains and item pool for community-dwelling individuals

Abstract

Mobility disability can affect a wide range of activities, from difficulty in turning in bed to problems of riding a vehicle. The existing scales do not include all the relevant items for mobility within the community. There is therefore a strong need to develop a scale with items which are comprehensive and culturally relevant to community-dwelling individuals. Purpose: This study was conducted to generate the mobility domains and item pool for community-dwelling individuals, and to validate the content. Method: The method includedextensive research into literature on existing mobility scales, and direct interviews with 20 persons with chronic mobility disability who livewithin their community. The generated items were grouped under the relevant domains and subjected to content validation by 10 experts. Items were judged on the basis of relevance, and acceptance of the item or domain was conditional on a 70% minimum level of agreement between the experts. Results: Ninety-nine items and 14 domains were generated by the literature search and direct interviews. The items were grouped under the 14 domains, according to their relevance and purpose. Content validation resulted in the elimination of 44 items and 5 domains as per the criteria for agreement. Items and domains were also modified to improve relevance and reduce ambiguity. Conclusion: A comprehensive mobility item pool for community-dwelling individuals, with items ranging from simple to the most challenging tasks under the proposed domains, has been generated and content validated. The development of a new mobility disability scale which uses these items, and evaluation of its psychometric properties is recommended. Limitation: Confirmatory factor analysis could not be done to evaluate the fit of items under proposed domains.