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PubMed2006

Reliability and validity of the ESRD Symptom Checklist--Transplantation Module in Norwegian kidney transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to validate the Norwegian version of a self-administered 43-item questionnaire designed to assess quality of life in kidney transplant recipients, the End-Stage Renal Disease Symptom Checklist--Transplantation Module (ESRD-SCL). METHODS: In total, 53 kidney transplant recipients from one university-affiliated hospital responded to a questionnaire including the ESRD-SCL and the Short Form 36 (SF-36). We assessed internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability with 2 weeks between assessments. Construct validity was assessed by correlations of the ESRD-SCL subscales with related and unrelated SF-36 scales, demographic, and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Subscales of the ESRD-SCL showed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's = 0.72-0.81) and for the aggregate total scale alpha was 0.94. Test-retest reliability median 14 days apart was excellent with intraclass coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.95. The pattern of correlations of the ESRD-SCL scales with related and unrelated scales SF-36 scales and demographic and clinical characteristics gave support to the construct validity of the ESRD-SCL. CONCLUSION: The Norwegian translation of the ESRD-SCL showed satisfactory internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability and construct validity, at the level of the original German version.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Reliability, validity and responsiveness of a Norwegian version of the Chronic Sinusitis Survey.

BACKGROUND: The Chronic Sinusitis Survey (CSS) is a valid, disease-specific questionnaire for assessing health status and treatment effectiveness in chronic rhinosinusitis. In the present study, we developed a Norwegian version of the CSS and assessed its psychometric properties. METHODS: In the pooled data set of 65 patients from a trial of treatment for chronic sinusitis with long-standing symptoms and signs of sinusitis on computed tomography (CT), we assessed the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the CSS. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability of the two CSS scales and the total scale ranged 0.87-0.92, while internal consistency reliability ranged 0.31-0.55. CSS subscale scores were associated with other items on sinusitis symptoms, and with the Mental health and Bodily pain scale of the SF-36. There was little association of the CSS scale scores with sinus CT findings. The patients with chronic sinusitis had worse scores on all three CSS scales than a healthy reference population (n = 42) (p < 0.001). The CSS sinus symptoms subscale and the total scale were sensitive to improvement in global symptoms during 12 weeks. CONCLUSION: The Norwegian version of the CSS had acceptable test-retest reliability, but lower internal consistency reliability than the accepted standard criteria. The results support the construct validity of the measure and the sinusitis symptoms subscale and the total scales were responsive to change. This supports the use of the questionnaire in interventions for chronic sinusitis, but points at problems with the internal consistency reliability.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Self-administration and interviewer-administration of the German Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire: instrument development and assessment of validity and reliability in two randomised studies.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) is important in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Despite the high prevalence of COPD in Germany, Switzerland and Austria there is no validated disease-specific instrument available. The objective of this study was to translate the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ), one of the most widely used respiratory HRQL questionnaires, into German, develop an interviewer- and self-administered version including both standardised and individualised dyspnoea questions, and validate these versions in two randomised studies. METHODS: We recruited three groups of patients with COPD in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The 44 patients of the first group completed the CRQ during pilot testing to adapt the CRQ to German-speaking patients. We then recruited 80 patients participating in pulmonary rehabilitation programs to assess internal consistency reliability and cross-sectional validity of the CRQ. The third group consisted of 38 patients with stable COPD without an intervention to assess test-retest reliability. To compare the interviewer- and self-administered versions, we randomised patients in groups 2 and 3 to the interviewer- or self-administered CRQ. Patients completed both the standardised and individualised dyspnoea questions. RESULTS: For both administration formats and all domains, we found good internal consistency reliability (Crohnbach's alpha between 0.73 and 0.89). Cross-sectional validity tended to be better for the standardised compared to the individualised dyspnoea questions and cross-sectional validity was slightly better for the self-administered format. Test-retest reliability was good for both the interviewer-administered CRQ (intraclass correlation coefficients for different domains between 0.81 and 0.95) and the self-administered format (intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.78 and 0.86). Lower within-person variability was responsible for the higher test-retest reliability of the interviewer-administered format while between person variability was similar for both formats. CONCLUSIONS: Investigators in German-speaking countries can choose between valid and reliable self-and interviewer-administered CRQ formats.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Parent proxy-report of their children's health-related quality of life: an analysis of 13,878 parents' reliability and validity across age subgroups using the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measurement has emerged as an important health outcome in clinical trials, clinical practice improvement strategies, and healthcare services research and evaluation. While pediatric patient self-report should be considered the standard for measuring perceived HRQOL, there are circumstances when children are too young, too cognitively impaired, too ill or fatigued to complete a HRQOL instrument, and reliable and valid parent proxy-report instruments are needed in such cases. Further, it is typically parents' perceptions of their children's HRQOL that influences healthcare utilization. Data from the PedsQL DatabaseSM were utilized to test the reliability and validity of parent proxy-report at the individual age subgroup level for ages 2-16 years as recommended by recent FDA guidelines. METHODS: The sample analyzed represents parent proxy-report age data on 13,878 children ages 2 to 16 years from the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales DatabaseSM. Parents were recruited from general pediatric clinics, subspecialty clinics, and hospitals in which their children were being seen for well-child checks, mild acute illness, or chronic illness care (n = 3,718, 26.8%), and from a State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in California (n = 10,160, 73.2%). RESULTS: The percentage of missing item responses for the parent proxy-report sample as a whole was 2.1%, supporting feasibility. The majority of the parent proxy-report scales across the age subgroups exceeded the minimum internal consistency reliability standard of 0.70 required for group comparisons, while the Total Scale Scores across the age subgroups approached or exceeded the reliability criterion of 0.90 recommended for analyzing individual patient scale scores. Construct validity was demonstrated utilizing the known groups approach. For each PedsQL scale and summary score, across age subgroups, healthy children demonstrated a statistically significant difference in HRQOL (better HRQOL) than children with a known chronic health condition, with most effect sizes in the medium to large effect size range. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the feasibility, reliability, and validity of parent proxy-report at the individual age subgroup for ages 2-16 years. These analyses are consistent with recent FDA guidelines which require instrument development and validation testing for children and adolescents within fairly narrow age groupings and which determine the lower age limit at which reliable and valid responses across age categories are achievable. Even as pediatric patient self-report is advocated, there remains a fundamental role for parent proxy-report in pediatric clinical trials and health services research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Girls' perception of physical environmental factors and transportation: reliability and association with physical activity and active transport to school.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary evidence suggests that the physical environment and transportation are associated with youth physical activity levels. Only a few studies have examined the association of physical environmental factors on walking and bicycling to school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to examine the test-retest reliability of a survey designed for youth to assess perceptions of physical environmental factors (e.g. safety, aesthetics, facilities near the home) and transportation, and (2) to describe the associations of these perceptions with both physical activity and active transport to school. METHODS: Test and retest surveys, administered a median of 12 days later, were conducted with 480 sixth- and eighth-grade girls in or near six U.S. communities. The instrument consisted of 24 questions on safety and aesthetics of the perceived environment and transportation and related facilities. Additionally, girls were asked if they were aware of 14 different recreational facilities offering structured and unstructured activities, and if so, whether they would visit these facilities and the ease with which they could access them. Test-retest reliability was determined using kappa coefficients, overall and separately by grade. Associations with physical activity and active transport to school were examined using mixed model logistic regression (n = 610), adjusting for grade, race/ethnicity, and site. RESULTS: Item-specific reliabilities for questions assessing perceived safety and aesthetics of the neighborhood ranged from 0.31 to 0.52. Reliabilities of items assessing awareness of and interest in going to the 14 recreational facilities ranged from 0.47 to 0.64. Reliabilities of items assessing transportation ranged from 0.34 to 0.58. Some items on girls' perceptions of perceived safety, aesthetics of the environment, facilities, and transportation were important correlates of physical activity and, in some cases, active transport to school. CONCLUSION: This study provides some psychometric support for the use of the questionnaire on physical environmental factors and transportation for studying physical activity and active transport to school among adolescent girls. Further work can continue to improve reliability of these self-report items and examine their association of these factors with objectively measured physical activity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Inter-rater reliability of the Nottingham method of stereognosis assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the inter-rater reliability of stereognosis assessment in stroke patients, as measured by the Nottingham Sensory Assessment (NSA). SUBJECTS: Twenty stroke patients consented to participate in the study. The subjects were aged between 40 and 93 years, and were no more than three months post stroke. DESIGN: The stereognostic ability of the subjects was assessed by two of three examiners within a 24-hour period. The method laid out by the NSA was followed throughout the study. ANALYSIS: Point to point agreement of scores and therefore reliability levels were assessed between examiners using the kappa coefficient of agreement. RESULTS: The majority of subjects (n = 13) were found to have impaired stereognosis on their affected side. A good level of reliability was found for the majority of items (n = 32), with kappa values being rated as substantial or higher for most of the objects tested. In eight cases the reliability was fair or moderate. These cases included the glass, biro and 10p coin when the affected side was assessed by examiners 1 and 2, and the pencil when the same side was assessed by examiners 1 and 3. These levels of reliability were acceptable, but were not as high as the researchers had hoped. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the Nottingham method of stereognosis assessment is a reliable assessment tool between raters.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Reliability of lower extremity isokinetic strength testing in adults with stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability of isokinetic strength testing of knee flexion and extension at 60 degrees per second, and ankle plantar flexion and dorsiflexion at 30 degrees per second in adults with stroke. DESIGN: Test-retest using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). SETTING: Human performance laboratory. SUBJECTS: Ten adults post stroke with a mean age of 64 years (five males) and 10 adults without neurological injury with a mean age of 69 years (three males) who served as controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Peak torque and average torque. RESULTS: The reliability of strength of the less-affected lower extremity was high with values ranging from 0.75 to 0.97. Knee extension, ankle plantar flexion and the peak torque of dorsiflexion were reliable for the affected limb, ranging from 0.80 to 0.90. In contrast, affected knee flexion was not reliable with values of 0.48 and 0.44 for peak torque and average peak torque respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Isokinetic knee and ankle strength of the less-affected limb are reliable. Isokinetic strength of the affected lower extremity is also reliable with the noted exception of knee flexion.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Reliability and validity of the Northwick Park Dependency Score (NPDS) Swedish version 6.0.

OBJECTIVE: To translate, to test inter-rater and intra-rater reliability and concurrent validity of the Basic Care Needs (BCN) section of the Northwick Park Dependency Score (NPDS). DESIGN: Test-retest reliability and validity testing. Observed data were collected by the staff (nursing staff, occupational therapists). SETTING: Three rehabilitation units. SUBJECTS: Forty inpatients between 16 and 65 years of age with brain injury were included. MAIN MEASURES: Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was calculated by percentage agreement (PA) and unweighted kappa measure. Concurrent validity was examined by computing Goodman-Kruskal's gamma, a nonparametric statistic for degree of association between the BCN score and the total score of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability showed a good percentage agreement between nursing staff. Between nursing staff and occupational therapists the percentage agreement was lower especially in one item. Intra-rater reliability showed a good percentage agreement for all assessors. Concordance was good with a gamma--0.83 and an asymptotic error (ase) of 0.04, for nursing staff and for occupational therapists -0.87, ase 0.04. CONCLUSION: The BCN section of NPDS was found to be inter-rater and intra-rater reliable, to have concurrent validity. Further studies are needed on clinical utility. The instrument can be used for assessment of dependency for individual patients with brain injury, and information when transferring between different caregivers. Further studies need to investigate the sensitivity of the instrument.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Reliability of simple portable tests of physical performance in older people after hip fracture.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the test-retest reliability of measures of strength, balance, gait and functional performance when used with older people following hip fracture. SUBJECTS: Thirty people (16 hospital inpatients and 14 community dwellers). DESIGN: Subjects underwent two assessments: one day apart for the hospital inpatients and one week apart for the community dwellers. MEASUREMENT: Strength (dynamometer, sphygmomanometer, spring balance, lateral step-up ability), balance (sway-meter, Functional Reach Test, single leg stance time, Step Test), gait (timed 6-m walk with steps taken, base of support and step length), and functional performance (PPME total score and timed supine-to-sit and sit-to-stand) were measured. RESULTS: Eleven of the 14 continuously scaled measurement tools achieved excellent reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) > 0.75) for one or more tests. A hand-held dynamometer was found to be the tool with the highest test-retest reliability for measuring hip muscle strength (ICC (3,1) 0.86 for affected hip abduction). For measurement of knee extension strength, a spring balance (ICC (3,1) 0.94 affected leg) was the most reliable. For testing balance, the Step Test (ICC (3,1) 0.94 for stepping with affected leg) and Functional Reach Test (ICC (3,1) 0.89) had the highest test-retest reliability. The ICC (3,1) values were 0.97 for walking velocity (comfortable pace) and 0.96 for the total score of the Physical Performance and Mobility Examination. CONCLUSION: The test-retest reliability of a number of simple measures of physical performance is excellent when used with this population.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Reliability of the Modified Tardieu Scale and the Modified Ashworth Scale in adult patients with severe brain injury: a comparison study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess and to compare the reliability of the Modified Tardieu Scale with the Modified Ashworth Scale in patients with severe brain injury and impaired consciousness. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational comparison study. SETTING: An early rehabilitation centre for adults with neurological disorders. SUBJECTS: Thirty patients with impaired consciousness due to severe cerebral damage of various aetiologies. MEASUREMENT PROTOCOL: Four experienced physical therapists rated each patient in a randomized order once daily for two consecutive days. Shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle spasticity were assessed by the use of Modified Tardieu Scale and Modified Ashworth Scale data collection procedures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Test-retest and inter-rater reliability (kappa = kappa value) of the Modified Tardieu Scale and the Modified Ashworth Scale. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability of the Modified Ashworth Scale was moderate to good (kappa = 0.47-0.62) and of the Modified Tardieu Scale moderate to very good (kappa = 0.52-0.87). Test-retest reliability was significantly higher within the Modified Tardieu Scale in comparison with the Modified Ashworth Scale (Z > 1.96; p < 0.05) except for shoulder extensor and internal rotator muscles (Z < 1.96; p > 0.05). Although inter-rater reliability of both scales was poor to moderate (Modified Ashworth Scale: kappa = 0.16-0.42; Modified Tardieu Scale: kappa = 0.29-0.53), significantly higher K-values were revealed with the Modified Tardieu Scale for all tested muscle groups (Z > 1.96; p < 0.05) except for wrist extensors (Z < 1.96; p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with severe brain injury and impaired consciousness the Modified Tardieu Scale provides higher test retest and inter-rater reliability compared with the Modified Ashworth Scale and may therefore be a more valid spasticity scale in adults.

Brain Injuries↗
PubMed2000

Reliability of lifetime history of bulimia nervosa. Comparison with major depression.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found that the reliability of the lifetime prevalence of bulimia nervosa is low to moderate. However, the reasons for poor reliability remain unknown. AIMS: We investigated the ability of a range of variables to predict reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of reporting of both bulimia nervosa and major depression. METHOD: Two interviews, approximately 5 years apart, were completed with 2163 women from the Virginia Twin Registry. RESULTS: After accounting for different base rates, bulimia nervosa was shown to be as reliably reported as major depression. Consistent with previous studies of major depression, improved reliability of bulimia nervosa reporting is associated with more severe bulimic symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent binge eating and the presence of salient behavioural markers such as vomiting and laxative misuse are associated with more reliable reporting of bulimia nervosa. In the absence of the use of fuller forms of assessment, brief interviews should utilise more than one prompt question, thus increasing the probability that memory of past disorders will be more successfully activated and accessed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Reliability of a structured interview scoring instrument for a Canadian postgraduate emergency medicine training program.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the reliability of scores assigned to interviews of medical students applying to an emergency medicine program. METHODS: A scoring instrument was derived based on faculty and resident input, institutional and national documents, and previous application procedures. Candidates were interviewed by four pairs of interviewers. Interviewers were asked to score the candidates on five visual analog scales (VASs) with objective anchors. Each interview assessed a unique candidate characteristic. All interviewers were given explicit instructions on scoring procedures and instrument use. The data were entered into an Excel database and transferred to SPSS, and reliabilities were measured with a two-way mixed-effect Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: Forty applications were received for the 2002 residency entry year. Thirty-eight application packages were complete, and 16 candidates were interviewed. Data collection was complete for all 16. The average measure intraclass correlations for each individual interviewer across the five VASs ranged from 0.72 to 0.92 (mean, 0.85). The interrater reliability within the four interviews (personal characteristics, trainability, suitability for emergency medicine, and suitability for the specific training program) were low at 0.36, 0.59, 0.69, and 0.49. The overall reliability of the four interview scores was 0.83, and for the eight interviewer scores it was 0.86. CONCLUSIONS: The reliability of the overall interview scores was very high. The intraclass correlations for each interviewer's VAS scores were also high, but interrater correlations within interview teams were moderate and not higher than those across interview teams. This study suggests that an interview assessment instrument can be highly reliable overall and that interviewers base scores on an overall global impression.

Canada↗
PubMed2004

Reliability and validity of scores on The Emergency Severity Index version 3.

OBJECTIVES: No widely used triage instrument accurately assesses patient acuity. The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) promises to facilitate reliable acuity assessment and possibly predict patient disposition. However, reliability and validity of ESI scores have not been established in emergency departments (EDs) outside the original research sites, and version 3 (v.3) of the ESI has not been evaluated. The study hypothesis was that scores on the ESI v.3 show good interrater reliability and predict hospital admission, admission site, and death. METHODS: The authors conducted an ED-based cross-sectional retrospective study of 403 systematically selected ED records of patients who presented to an academic medical center. Twenty-seven variables were abstracted, including triage level assigned, admission status, site, and death. Using a standard process, the researchers determined the true triage level. Weighted kappa and Pearson correlation were used to calculate interrater reliability between true triage level and triage score assigned by the registered nurse (RN). The relationships between the true ESI level and admission, admission site, and death were assessed. RESULTS: Interrater reliability between RN ESI level and the true ESI level was kappa = 0.89; Pearson r = 0.83 (p < 0.001). Hospital admission by ESI level was as follows: 1 (80%), 2 (73%), 3 (51%), 4 (6%), and 5 (5%). A higher percentage of ESI level-1 and level-2 patients (40%, 12%) were admitted to the intensive care unit than ESI levels 3-5 (2%, 0%, 0%). Admission to telemetry for ESI levels 1-5 was 20%, 19%, 7%, 1%, and 0%, respectively. Three of four patients who died were ESI level 1 or 2. CONCLUSIONS: Scores on the ESI assigned by nurses have excellent interrater reliability and predict hospital admission and location of admission.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of hand shape on maximal isometric grip strength and its reliability in teenagers.

Hands can be classified by their shape; width divided by length. This study examined the impact of shape of the hand (as relatively long, average, or square shaped) on maximal voluntary isometric grip strength and test-retest reliability in a group of healthy teenagers aged 13 to 17 years. When 116 boys and 112 girls were measured with a GripTrack (a computer-linked Jamar-like isometric hand grip dynamometer; JTech Medical Industries, Salt Lake City, UT), boys were significantly stronger than girls (by 11.02 kg force, p < 0.01), and dominant hands were significantly stronger than nondominant hands (by 2.53 kg force, p < 0.01). There were no significant differences due to hand shape. To examine the reliability of the grip strength test, 74 boys and 75 girls were retested, with a mean retest time interval of 15.5 days. There was a small but significant improvement in grip strength (by 0.62 kg force, p < 0.01). Regarding male subjects, the test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 3,1) for both hands of the three hand-shape groups were excellent, with ICC values ranging from 0.954 to 0.973. For the female subjects, however, reliability values declined across the three hand-shape groups from long to square (ICC 0.920-0.476), such that compared with their male counterparts, strength test reliability examined by the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was significantly lower for average and square hand shapes. Although there may be several factors contributing to this difference between boys and girls in strength test reliability for different hand-shape groups, it is possible that Jamar-like handgrip dynamometers have a handle shape that impedes those girls with relatively square hands from giving reliable grip strength readings over time.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The intertester and intratester reliability of hand volumetrics.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intertester and intratester reliability of hand volumetric measurements comparing two different protocols. The first protocol involved three clinicians at an outpatient facility interpreting the manufacturer's volumeter instructions. At the second university site, three testers utilized a modified version of the American Society of Hand Therapists' recommended protocol. Three measurements were taken of each of 30 nonedematous hands per site. Reliability was assessed using only the first measurement and using the mean of the three measurements. Results for both protocols revealed very high intertester reliability (ICC=0.99) whether using the first measurement or the mean of three measurements. Intratester reliability was also very high (ICC=0.99) using either protocol. Standard error of measurement values are included and additional variables, which may affect the reliability of hand volumetrics, are discussed. The authors conclude that there is high reliability with volumetric measurements.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Karnofsky performance status revisited: reliability, validity, and guidelines.

Little research has been conducted documenting the reliability and validity of the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scale, and guidelines based on empirical data do not exist to govern its use. Two hundred ninety-three cancer patients completed a questionnaire that assesses their physical and psychosocial difficulties. Physicians rated patients on the KPS and a subsample of 75 patients was used to evaluate interrater reliability. Analyses were conducted to evaluate the interrater reliability and construct validity of the KPS. The KPS was shown to have good reliability and validity. Detailed examination of the reliability data suggested areas in which physicians err in their judgments. Multiple regression techniques were used to empirically identify seven behaviorally based questions that would be helpful in predicting KPS scores. The seven variables included weight loss, weight gain, reduced energy, difficulty walking, driving, grooming, and working part time. An interview approach with behaviorally based guidelines is presented using these variables to obtain relevant data and make more accurate KPS ratings. With the approach suggested and the guidelines presented, oncologists may train themselves to use the KPS in a standard way, which should increase reliability and validity of the KPS and has implications for patients and research studies that use KPS as a stratifying variable.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

Validity and reliability of the AD8 informant interview in dementia.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the validity, reliability, and discriminative properties of the AD8, a brief informant interview to detect dementia, in a clinic sample. METHODS: We evaluated 255 patient-informant dyads. We compared the number of endorsed AD8 items with an independently derived Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and with performance on neuropsychological tests. Construct and concurrent validity, test-retest, interrater and intermodal reliability, and internal consistency of the AD8 were determined. Receiver operator characteristic curves were used to assess the discriminative properties of the AD8. RESULTS: Concurrent validity was strong with AD8 scores correlating with the CDR (r = 0.75, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.88). Construct validity testing showed strong correlation between AD8 scores, CDR domains, and performance on neuropsychological tests. The Cronbach alpha of the AD8 was 0.84 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.87), suggesting excellent internal consistency. The AD8 demonstrated good intrarater reliability and stability (weighted kappa = 0.67, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.75). Both in-person and phone administration showed equal reliability (weighted kappa = 0.65, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.73). Interrater reliability was very good (Intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.80, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.92). The area under the curve was 0.92 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.95), suggesting excellent discrimination between nondemented individuals and those with cognitive impairment regardless of etiology. CONCLUSION: The AD8 is a brief, sensitive measure that validly and reliably differentiates between nondemented and demented individuals. It can be used as a general screening device to detect cognitive change regardless of etiology and with different types of informants.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Reliability and validity of self-reported CD4 lymphocyte count and viral load test results in people living with HIV/AIDS.

Self-reporting is a common, convenient, and inexpensive method for collecting health status information in HIV/AIDS research, but the reliability and validity of these data remain suspect. HIV-positive persons (n=174) completed self-report measures of demographics, health status, and health literacy, and provided permission to collect CD4 cell counts and viral load results from provider charts. Clinically meaningful categories of CD4 cell counts were reliably and validly assessed using self-report measures. Self-reported viral load, however, demonstrated only marginally acceptable reliability and validity, with the greatest validity occurring for recall of undetectable viral load. Self-reported health status was most reliable and valid for persons with higher levels of education and literacy. CD4 cell counts can therefore be reliably and validly assessed through self-reporting, particularly when collected in clinically meaningful units from persons with higher education. Self-reported viral load should be interpreted with caution and is most reliable when dichotomized into detectable/undetectable categories.

Adult↗