Open AccessThe Reliability and Validity of the Elderly Mobility Scale in the Acute Hospital Setting
Author(s) -
Joanne Stacey Nolan,
Lucinda Elaine Remilton,
Margaret Mary Green
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the internet journal of allied health sciences and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1540-580X
DOI - 10.46743/1540-580x/2008.1213
Subject(s) - rivermead post concussion symptoms questionnaire , reliability (semiconductor) , concurrent validity , medicine , physical therapy , validity , inter rater reliability , psychology , rating scale , psychometrics , rehabilitation , clinical psychology , internal consistency , developmental psychology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Elderly Mobility Scale (EMS) in an acute hospital setting. Intra-rater (n=15) and inter-rater (n=18) reliability were investigated using physiotherapists who viewed and scored video-recorded mobility assessments using the EMS on two occasions, one week apart. Latent class analysis of EMS scores showed that neither the occasion of testing (intra-rater reliability) (R2=0.0035, p=0.72), therapist (inter-rater reliability (R2=0.0051, p=1.00), years of experience (R2=0.0058, p=1.00) nor number of EMS assessments previously completed (R2=0.0048, p=1.00) had any impact on the EMS scores. The only factor which impacted on clustering was the EMS score (R2=0.8263, p=0.000). Concurrent validity was assessed by comparison with the Modified Rivermead Mobility Index (MRMI) in patients aged ≥ 55 years (n = 32) and demonstrated that EMS scores were highly correlated with the MRMI (Spearman’s ρ=0.887). Therefore intra-rater reliability of the EMS has been reported for the first time, and inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of the EMS have been further supported and extended into a younger patient group for mobility assessment in acute hospital patients.