Dataset Information

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Balance and gait problems are common and progressive in dementia. Use of a mobility aid provides physical support and confidence. Yet, mobility aid use in people with dementia increases falls three-fold. An assessment tool of mobility aid safety in people with dementia does not currently exist. The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop a tool for the evaluation of physical function and safe use of a 4-wheeled walker in people with dementia, and 2) to evaluate its construct and criterion validity, inter-rater and test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change.

Methods

Healthcare professionals (HCP) experienced in rehabilitation of people with dementia participated in focus groups for item generation of the new tool, The Safe Use of Mobility Aid Checklist (SUMAC). The SUMAC evaluates physical function (PF) and safe use of the equipment (EQ) on nine tasks of daily life. Reliability was evaluated by HCP (n?=?5) scored participant videos of people with dementia (n?=?10) using a 4-wheeled walker performing the SUMAC. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity evaluated scores of the HCPs to a consensus HCP panel using Spearman's rank-order correlations. Criterion validity evaluated SUMAC-PF to the Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) gait subscale using Spearman's rank-order correlations.

Results

Three focus groups (n?=?17) generated a tool comprised of nine tasks and the components within each task for physical function and safe use. Inter-rater reliability was statistically significant for SUMAC-PF (ICC?=?0.92, 95%CI (0.81, 0.98), p?s?=?0.84), but not EQ (r_s?=?0.39).

Conclusions

The focus groups and research team developed a tool of nine tasks with evaluation on physical function and safe use of a 4-wheeled walker for people with dementia. The SUMAC tool has demonstrated content validity for the whole scale and good construct and criterion validity for the SUMAC-PF and SUMAC-EQ. The subscores of the SUMAC demonstrated excellent to good inter-rater and test-retest reliability.

SUBMITTER: Hunter SW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7659047 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia.

Hunter Susan W SW Divine Alison A Omana Humberto H Madou Ed E Holmes Jeffrey J

BMC geriatrics 20201111 1

<h4>Background</h4>Balance and gait problems are common and progressive in dementia. Use of a mobility aid provides physical support and confidence. Yet, mobility aid use in people with dementia increases falls three-fold. An assessment tool of mobility aid safety in people with dementia does not currently exist. The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop a tool for the evaluation of physical function and safe use of a 4-wheeled walker in people with dementia, and 2) to evaluate its constr ...[more]

PMID: 33176695

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Project description:BackgroundThe ability to perform a cognitive task while walking simultaneously (dual-tasking) is important in real life. However, the psychometric properties of dual-task walking tests have not been well established in stroke.ObjectiveTo assess the test-retest reliability, concurrent and known-groups validity of various dual-task walking tests in people with chronic stroke.DesignObservational measurement study with a test-retest design.MethodsEighty-eight individuals with chronic stroke participated. The testing protocol involved four walking tasks (walking forward at self-selected and maximal speed, walking backward at self-selected speed, and crossing over obstacles) performed simultaneously with each of the three attention-demanding tasks (verbal fluency, serial 3 subtractions or carrying a cup of water). For each dual-task condition, the time taken to complete the walking task, the correct response rate (CRR) of the cognitive task, and the dual-task effect (DTE) for the walking time and CRR were calculated. Forty-six of the participants were tested twice within 3-4 days to establish test-retest reliability.ResultsThe walking time in various dual-task assessments demonstrated good to excellent reliability [Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1) = 0.70-0.93; relative minimal detectable change at 95% confidence level (MDC95%) = 29%-45%]. The reliability of the CRR (ICC2,1 = 0.58-0.81) and the DTE in walking time (ICC2,1 = 0.11-0.80) was more varied. The reliability of the DTE in CRR (ICC2,1 = -0.31-0.40) was poor to fair. The walking time and CRR obtained in various dual-task walking tests were moderately to strongly correlated with those of the dual-task Timed-up-and-Go test, thus demonstrating good concurrent validity. None of the tests could discriminate fallers (those who had sustained at least one fall in the past year) from non-fallers.LimitationThe results are generalizable to community-dwelling individuals with chronic stroke only.ConclusionsThe walking time derived from the various dual-task assessments generally demonstrated good to excellent reliability, making them potentially useful in clinical practice and future research endeavors. However, the usefulness of these measurements in predicting falls needs to be further explored. Relatively low reliability was shown in the cognitive outcomes and DTE, which may not be preferred measurements for assessing dual-task performance.

Dataset Information

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia.

Similar Datasets

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