Reliability and validity of the public transportation use assessment form for individuals after stroke

Purpose To examine the reliability and validity of the public transportation use assessment form (PTAF), which was developed for assessing the performance of tasks during public transportation use. Materials and methods Fifty consecutive patients admitted after a stroke to a convalescent rehabilitation hospital and received field-based practice for public transportation use were enrolled. A physical therapist (PT) and an occupational therapist (OT) independently evaluated actual participant performance using the PTAF. Its internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity were examined against other clinical measures related to the ability to use public transportation. Results Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the internal consistency for overall PTAF was 0.84 and 0.88 for PTs and OTs, respectively. Cohen's weighted kappa coefficient for the inter-rater reliability for each item ranged from 0.61 to 0.83. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the inter-rater reliability for the mean scores of the items comprising the PTAF were 0.90 for all 14 items, 0.76 for items required for train use only, and 0.88 for items required for bus use only. The correlation coefficients for the construct validity between PTAF and clinical measures ranged from 0.38 to 0.59 (p < 0.05). Conclusions The PTAF showed sufficient internal consistency, intra-rater reliability, and construct validity.

Automated summary

The reliability and validity of the public transportation use assessment form (PTAF) were examined in this study. The results showed sufficient internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity of the PTAF.