TY - JOUR
T1 - Fugl-meyer assessment of sensorimotor function after stroke
T2 - Standardized training procedure for clinical practice and clinical trials
AU - Sullivan, Katherine J.
AU - Tilson, Julie K.
AU - Cen, Steven Y.
AU - Rose, Dorian K.
AU - Hershberg, Julie
AU - Correa, Anita
AU - Gallichio, Joann
AU - McLeod, Molly
AU - Moore, Craig
AU - Wu, Samuel S.
AU - Duncan, Pamela W.
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - Background and Purpose- Outcome measurement fidelity within and between sites of multi-site, randomized, clinical trials is an essential element to meaningful trial outcomes. As important are the methods developed for randomized, clinical trials that can have practical utility for clinical practice. A standardized measurement method and rater training program were developed for the total Fugl-Meyer motor and sensory assessments; inter-rater reliability was used to test program effectiveness. Methods- Fifteen individuals with hemiparetic stroke, 17 trained physical therapists across 5 regional clinical sites, and an expert rater participated in an inter-rater reliability study of the Fugl-Meyer motor (total, upper extremity, and lower extremity subscores) and sensory (total, light touch, and proprioception subscores) assessments. Results- Intra-rater reliability for the expert rater was high for the motor and sensory scores (range, 0.95-1.0). Inter-rater agreement (intraclass correlation coefficient, 2, 1) between expert and therapist raters was high for the motor scores (total, 0.98; upper extremity, 0.99; lower extremity, 0.91) and sensory scores (total, 0.93; light touch, 0.87; proprioception, 0.96). Conclusions- Standardized measurement methods and training of therapist assessors for a multi-site, rehabilitation, randomized, clinical trial resulted in high inter-rater reliability for the Fugl-Meyer motor and sensory assessments. Poststroke sensorimotor impairment severity can be reliably assessed for clinical practice or rehabilitation research with these methods.
AB - Background and Purpose- Outcome measurement fidelity within and between sites of multi-site, randomized, clinical trials is an essential element to meaningful trial outcomes. As important are the methods developed for randomized, clinical trials that can have practical utility for clinical practice. A standardized measurement method and rater training program were developed for the total Fugl-Meyer motor and sensory assessments; inter-rater reliability was used to test program effectiveness. Methods- Fifteen individuals with hemiparetic stroke, 17 trained physical therapists across 5 regional clinical sites, and an expert rater participated in an inter-rater reliability study of the Fugl-Meyer motor (total, upper extremity, and lower extremity subscores) and sensory (total, light touch, and proprioception subscores) assessments. Results- Intra-rater reliability for the expert rater was high for the motor and sensory scores (range, 0.95-1.0). Inter-rater agreement (intraclass correlation coefficient, 2, 1) between expert and therapist raters was high for the motor scores (total, 0.98; upper extremity, 0.99; lower extremity, 0.91) and sensory scores (total, 0.93; light touch, 0.87; proprioception, 0.96). Conclusions- Standardized measurement methods and training of therapist assessors for a multi-site, rehabilitation, randomized, clinical trial resulted in high inter-rater reliability for the Fugl-Meyer motor and sensory assessments. Poststroke sensorimotor impairment severity can be reliably assessed for clinical practice or rehabilitation research with these methods.
KW - motor impairment
KW - physiotherapy
KW - rehabilitation
KW - sensory impairment
KW - stroke recovery
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79251634408&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.592766
DO - 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.592766
M3 - Article
C2 - 21164120
AN - SCOPUS:79251634408
SN - 0039-2499
VL - 42
SP - 427
EP - 432
JO - Stroke
JF - Stroke
IS - 2
ER -