A telephone-based version of the spinal cord injury-secondary conditions scale: A reliability and validity study

Abstract

Objective:The objective of this study was to determine the inter-rater reliability and validity of using a telephone-based version of the spinal cord injury-secondary conditions scale (SCI-SCS).Trial design:A psychometric study was conducted.Setting:The study was conducted in Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia.Participants:Forty people with a complete or an incomplete spinal cord injury.Methods:Inter-rater reliability was tested by comparing the telephone-based version of the SCI-SCS administered on two different days by two different telephone assessors. Validity was tested by comparing the telephone-based version of the SCI-SCS with the paper-based version of the SCI-SCS.Results:The median (interquartile range) age and time since injury were 54 (48-63) years and 28 (14-35) years, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient (95% confidence interval) reflecting the agreement between the telephone-based version of the SCI-SCS administered on two different days by two different assessors was 0.96 (0.93-0.98). The corresponding value reflecting agreement between the telephone-based assessment and the paper-based assessment was 0.90 (0.83-0.95).Conclusion:The telephone-based version of the SCI-SCS is a simple and a quick questionnaire to administer that has both inter-rater reliability and validity. It may be useful as a way to screen for secondary health conditions in low- and middle-income countries where it is not always feasible to provide routine face-to-face follow-ups and where literacy may be a problem.