Developing a Clinical Tool to Measure Sitting Balance after Stroke: A reliability study

Abstract

Summary Regaining a stable sitting posture after stroke is emphasised as an important aim of physiotherapy. A clinical rating scale for sitting balance was developed based on visual observation of balance, posture and trunk activity in five different positions. The interrater agreement on using this instrument was investigated with 27 stroke patients. Different results were found for different categories of items using the kappa statistic. With regard to the assessment of patients' ability to balance, a high reliability was found. However, there was low agreement between the raters on the items concerning the quality of performance. Further work is needed to improve the scale's reliability and validity. Regaining a stable sitting posture after stroke is emphasised as an important aim of physiotherapy. A clinical rating scale for sitting balance was developed based on visual observation of balance, posture and trunk activity in five different positions. The interrater agreement on using this instrument was investigated with 27 stroke patients. Different results were found for different categories of items using the kappa statistic. With regard to the assessment of patients' ability to balance, a high reliability was found. However, there was low agreement between the raters on the items concerning the quality of performance. Further work is needed to improve the scale's reliability and validity.