METHODS. A pilot questionnaire was created by consulting the literature, clinicians, and video display terminal (VDT) workers. The replies of 636 subjects completing the questionnaire were assessed using the Rasch model and conventional statistics to generate a new scale, designated the Computer-Vision Symptom Scale (CVSS17). Validity and reliability were determined by Rasch fit statistics, pri...

OBJECTIVE Social withdrawal is described as the condition in which an individual experiences a desire to make social contact, but is unable to satisfy that desire. It is an important issue for patients with motor neurone disease who are likely to experience severe physical impairment. This study aims to reassess the psychometric and scaling properties of the MND Social Withdrawal Scale (MND-SWS...

BACKGROUND There is currently no interval-level measure of foot-related disability and this has hampered research in this area. The Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index (FPDI) could potentially fill this gap. OBJECTIVE To assess the fit of the three subscales (function, pain, appearance) of the FPDI to the Rasch unidimensional measurement model in order to form interval-level scores. M...

PURPOSE To assess and re-engineer the Vision Core Measure 1 (VCM1) questionnaire in low vision (LV) and cataract participants using Rasch analysis. METHODS 295 participants drawn from a low vision clinic and 181 from a cataract surgery waiting list completed the 10-item VCM1. Unidimensionality, item fit to the model, response category performance, differential item functioning (DIF) and targe...

BACKGROUND Dupuytren's contracture is a progressive, fibroproliferative disorder that causes fixed finger contractures and can lead to disability. With the advances of new therapeutic interventions, the necessity to assess the functional repercussions of this condition using valid, reliable and sensitive outcome measures is of growing interest. The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DA...

UNLABELLED Background Quality of life evaluates the general well-being of individuals and it can be considered as one of the important aspects in programming and giving service to disabled people. Blindness is one of the most important kinds of physical disability that has a direct effect on quality of life, so this study aimed to explore how war blindness influences the quality of life. METH...

The Brunnstrom recovery stages (the BRS) consists of 2 items assessing the poststroke motor function of the upper extremities and 1 assessing the lower extremities. The 3 items together represent overall motor function. Although the BRS efficiently assesses poststroke motor functions, a lack of rigorous examination of the psychometric properties restricts its utility. We aimed to examine the un...

OBJECTIVE Measuring self-efficacy during rehabilitation provides an important insight into understanding recovery post stroke. A Rasch analysis of the Stroke Self-efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ) was undertaken to establish its use as a clinically meaningful and scientifically rigorous measure. METHODS One hundred and eighteen stroke patients completed the SSEQ with the help of an interviewer. P...

The authors conducted Rasch model (G. Rasch, 1960) analyses of items from the Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST; S. C. Hurlbut & K. J. Sher, 1992) to examine the relative severity and ordering of alcohol problems in 806 college students. Items appeared to measure a single dimension of alcohol problem severity, covering a broad range of the latent continuum. Items fit the Rasch...

The field of Psychometrics routinely grapples with the question of what it means to measure the inherent ability of an organism to perform a given task, and for the last forty years, the field has increasingly relied on probabilistic methods such as the Rasch model for test construction and the analysis of test results. Because the underlying issues of measuring ability apply to human language ...