Rehabilitation Measures Database
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  2. Spinal Cord Injury - Quality of Life Ambulation [Spinal Cord Injury – Functional Index]

Spinal Cord Injury - Quality of Life Ambulation [Spinal Cord Injury – Functional Index]

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Raw Score to T-Score Conversion Table

Purpose

The SCI-QOL Ambulation instrument assesses ability to engage in walking activities in individuals with spinal cord injury.

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Acronym SCI-QOL Ambulation [SCI-FI]

Area of Assessment

Functional Mobility
Quality of Life

Assessment Type

Patient Reported Outcomes

Administration Mode

Computer

Cost

Free

Cost Description

Paper copies of short forms are available. PDFs can be requested through emails to sci-qol@udel.edu and tbi-qol@udel.edu

Electronic versions can be found in the NIH Toolbox or the PROMIS app. Either app is $500/yr, and covers up to 10 iPads on a single license. The SCI-QOL and TBI-QOL CATs can be administered directly through these apps. It is important to note that using the app requires you to be physically with the participant or read the questions aloud by interview over the phone - there is no way to send a link to have someone complete the measures at home.

Free electronic versions are available. If your institution has REDCap, the CATs and short forms can be accessed through the REDCap instrument library by searching for the specific measure you want and adding them to your REDCap project. For non-REDCap alternatives, the SCI-QOL and TBI-QOL short forms can be imported into an alternative electronic administration platform such as Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, etc. Email sci-qol@udel.edu or tbi-qol@udel.edu to request PDF versions.

Diagnosis/Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injury

Populations

Spinal Injuries

Key Descriptions

  • The SCI-QOL Ambulation measure is an item response theory (IRT)-calibrated item bank with 29 items that is available for administration as a computer adaptive test (CAT; range 4-12 items) or 11 item short form (SF).

Number of Items

29

Short: 11

CAT: 4-12

Equipment Required

  • The short form requires the form and a pencil.
  • A CAT administration requires a computer with internet connection.
  • See 'Cost Description' for more information on how to obtain this measure

Time to Administer

Less than 5 minutes

Required Training

Reading an Article/Manual

Age Ranges

Adults

18 - 64

years

Elderly Adults

65 +

years

Instrument Reviewers

Review completed by Kelsey Stipp, M.S. and Kristian Nitsch, M.S.

Body Part

Lower Extremity

ICF Domain

Body Function

Measurement Domain

Motor

Considerations

Do you see an error or have a suggestion for this instrument summary? Please e-mail us!

Spinal Injuries

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Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Depends on mode of administration and injury type:

  • Full Item Bank for Tetraplegia: SEM= 0.78
  • Full Item Bank for Paraplegia: SEM= 0.65

Minimal Detectable Change (MDC)

Calculated from SEM:

  • Full Item Bank for Tetraplegia: MDC= 2.16
  • Full Item Bank for Paraplegia: MDC= 1.8

Normative Data

Traumatic SCI: The normative data are calibrated on adults with traumatic spinal cord injury. The mean score (T = 50) indicates a score that is normal for an adult with a traumatic SCI. (Jette et al., 2015; n = 460, mean age = 43.1 years (14.8); time post injury = 6.8 years (8.9); 46.5% paraplegia, 53.5% tetraplegia)

Test/Retest Reliability

Traumatic SCI: (Jette et al., 2015; n = 460)

  • Excellent: (ICC = 0.98 for tetraplegia; ICC = 0.99 for paraplegia)

Criterion Validity (Predictive/Concurrent)

Traumatic SCI: (Sinha et al., 2015; n = 269; mean age = 43.8 years (15.5); time post injury = 6.8 (8.7); 46.5% paraplegia; 52.4% tetraplegia)

Adequate concurrent validity with:

  • Functional Index Measure: ρ = 0.379

Floor/Ceiling Effects

Traumatic SCI: (Jette et al., 2015)

Tetraplegia

  • Floor Effect: Adequate (4.5%)
  • Ceiling Effect: Excellent (0%)

Paraplegia

  • Floor Effect: Excellent (0%)
  • Ceiling Effect: Excellent (1.4%)

Bibliography

Jette, A. M., Slavin, M. D., Ni, P., Kisala, P. A., Tulsky, D. S., Heinemann, A. W., Charlifue, S., Tate, D. G., Fyffe, D., Morse, L., Marino, M., Smith, I., & Williams, S. (2015). Development and initial evaluation of the SCI-FI/AT. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 38(3), 409-418

Sinha, R., Slavin, M. D., Kisala, P. A., Ni, P., Tulsky, D. S., & Jette, A. M. (2015). Functional ability level development and validation: Providing clinical meaning for spinal cord injury functional index scores. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 96, 1448-57

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