Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Trunk Impairment Scale in people with a stroke

BackgroundThe Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) has been translated into Chinese, but the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the TIS (TIS-C) have not yet been established. We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the TIS-C for assessing sitting balance among Chinese people with a stroke.MethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. We recruited a convenience sample of 170 subacute stroke patients aged 18 years or over from the neurology departments of four traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in China. Patients completed the TIS-C, the Berg Balance Scale and the Modified Barthel Index. The psychometric properties of the TIS-C were examined to establish test-retest reliability, internal consistency, equivalence, and content, criterion, and construct validity.ResultsIntraclass correlation coefficients for inter-rater and intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.75 to 0.89 and from 0.90 to 0.97, respectively. The TIS-C Cronbach alpha was 0.86. The strong correlation between the total score of the TIS-C and the Berg Balance Scale (r(s) = 0.81, p<0.001) or Modified Barthel Index (r(s) = 0.84, p<0.001) suggested good concurrent and convergent validity, respectively. Known-group validity was supported by the significant difference (p<0.001) in TIS-C scores between participants with mild and moderate stroke.ConclusionsThe TIS-C is a valid and reliable tool for assessing static and dynamic sitting balance as well as coordination of trunk movement among stroke survivors with mild and moderate stroke.

Automated summary

The study found that the Chinese version of the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS-C) is a valid and reliable tool for assessing sitting balance among stroke survivors.