Face validity of a simulated low back pain clinical case in physical therapy training

Abstract

Introduction: The use of clinical cases in simulated environments allows for a more realistic approach to the simulated health condition, which results in a more effective training experience for students, as they are immersed in situations they may encounter in their professional practice. Objective: To determine the face validity of a low back pain clinical case as a clinical simulation tool in the training of physical therapy students. Materials and methods: Study conducted to determine the face validity of a low back pain clinical case presented to physical therapy students. The case has 9 items, which were evaluated by 5 expert raters. Agreement between raters regarding the pertinence, relevance, coherence, clarity, and sufficiency of the case was established using the Fleiss’ Kappa coefficient. Results: Fleiss’ Kappa for the simulated case was 0.67 (substantial agreement), and for items 1, 2, 4, and 9 was 0.97, 1.0, 0.89, and 1.0, respectively (almost perfect agreement). Furthermore, the percentage of case comprehensibility (9 items) was 95.2. Conclusion: The face validity of the low back pain clinical case was confirmed, so its use in clinical simulation practices in the physical therapy programs offered by the Universidad de La Sabana and Universidad de Boyacá in Colombia is valid.