Samaneh Alimohammad, M.Sc. (O.T.), Shahriar Parvaneh, Ph.D. (O.T.), Setareh Ghahari, Ph.D. (O.T.), Hooshang Saberi, M.P.H. (M.D.), Mir Saeed Yekaninejad, Ph.D., William C. Miller, Ph.D.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2015.09.004
Background
The Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM) evaluates participation outcomes associated with wheelchair use. While English and French versions of this measure have shown appropriate psychometric properties, it is not clear whether this measure is valid and reliable when used in a culture significantly different from the western culture.
Objective
To establish validity and reliability for the WhOM-Farsi.
Methods
After a forward-backward translation using the International Quality of Life Assessment process, the WhOM-Farsi was administered to 75 Farsi speakers with spinal cord injury. The WhOM-Farsi was administered on two occasions to examine test-retest reliability. Two therapists rated the measure to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Construct validity was assessed by measuring associations between scores of the WhOM-Farsi, the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12), the Beck Depression Index (BDI-II) and the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM-III).
Results
The intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) for inter-rater reliability for all scores was 0.99. For test-retest, the ICC was 0.91, 0.94 and 0.83 for Sat, Imp × Sat and body function, respectively. As hypothesized the scores were positively correlated with the SF-12 and SCIM-III scores and negatively correlated with the BDI-II scores.
Conclusions
The results illustrated there is evidence to support the validity and reliability of the WhOM-Farsi scores.