Construct validity and inter-rater reliability of the Dutch activity measure for post-acute care “6-clicks” basic mobility form to assess the mobility of hospitalized patients

<p>To evaluate the construct validity and the inter-rater reliability of the Dutch Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care “6-clicks” Basic Mobility short form measuring the patient’s mobility in Dutch hospital care. First, the “6-clicks” was translated by using a forward-backward translation protocol. Next, 64 patients were assessed by the physiotherapist to determine the validity while being admitted to the Internal Medicine wards of a university medical center. Six hypotheses were tested regarding the construct “mobility” which showed that: Better “6-clicks” scores were related to less restrictive pre-admission living situations (<i>p</i> = 0.011), less restrictive discharge locations (<i>p</i> = 0.001), more independence in activities of daily living (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and less physiotherapy visits (<i>p</i> < 0.001). A correlation was found between the “6-clicks” and length of stay (<i>r</i>= −0.408, <i>p</i> = 0.001), but not between the “6-clicks” and age (<i>r</i>= −0.180, <i>p</i> = 0.528). To determine the inter-rater reliability, an additional 50 patients were assessed by pairs of physiotherapists who independently scored the patients. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients of 0.920 (95%CI: 0.828–0.964) were found. The Kappa Coefficients for the individual items ranged from 0.649 (walking stairs) to 0.841 (sit-to-stand). The Dutch “6-clicks” shows a good construct validity and moderate-to-excellent inter-rater reliability when used to assess the mobility of hospitalized patients.Implications for Rehabilitation</p><p>Even though various measurement tools have been developed, it appears the majority of physiotherapists working in a hospital currently do not use these tools as a standard part of their care.</p><p>The Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care “6-clicks” Basic Mobility is the only tool which is designed to be short, easy to use within usual care and has been validated in the entire hospital population.</p><p>This study shows that the Dutch version of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care “6-clicks” Basic Mobility form is a valid, easy to use, quick tool to assess the basic mobility of Dutch hospitalized patients.</p><p></p> <p>Even though various measurement tools have been developed, it appears the majority of physiotherapists working in a hospital currently do not use these tools as a standard part of their care.</p> <p>The Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care “6-clicks” Basic Mobility is the only tool which is designed to be short, easy to use within usual care and has been validated in the entire hospital population.</p> <p>This study shows that the Dutch version of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care “6-clicks” Basic Mobility form is a valid, easy to use, quick tool to assess the basic mobility of Dutch hospitalized patients.