Development of a postacute hospital item bank for the new Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-Computer Adaptive Test

The PEDI-CAT is a new computer adaptive test (CAT) version of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). Additional PEDI-CAT items specific to postacute pediatric hospital care were recently developed using expert reviews and cognitive interviewing techniques. Expert reviews established face and construct validity, providing positive feedback on domain content and response scale options. Cognitive interviews established content validity while 60% of items were revised or removed because of the items being unclear or ambiguous, not measuring what was intended or lack of therapeutic terminology. As a result, an item bank containing more than 110 items in the three domains of self-care, mobility, and social function has been constructed and is ready to be calibrated and tested in a CAT application. With the addition of items specific for an inpatient pediatric postacute hospital setting, the PEDI-CAT (postacute hospital) will provide clinicians with the opportunity to use a context-specific assessment of function to support quality evaluations during inpatient rehabilitation care.