Reliability of the Function in Sitting Test (FIST).

Sharon L. Gorman,Monica Rivera,Lise McCarthy

doi:10.1155/2014/593280

Sharon L. Gorman, Monica Rivera + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/593280

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Abstract

The function in sitting test (FIST) is a newly developed, performance-based measure examining deficits in seated postural control. The FIST has been shown to be internally consistent and valid in persons with neurological dysfunction but intra- and interrater reliability and test-retest reliability have not been previously described. Seven patients with chronic neurologic dysfunction were tested and videotaped performing the FIST on two consecutive days. Seventeen acute care and inpatient rehabilitation physical therapist raters scored six of the videotaped performance of the FIST on two occasions at least 2 weeks apart. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to calculate the test-retest and intra- and interrater reliability of the FIST. ICC of 0.97 (95% CI 0.847–0.995) indicated excellent test-retest reliability of the FIST. Intra- and interrater reliability was also excellent with ICCs of 0.99 (95% CI 0.994–0.997) and 0.99 (95% CI 0.988–0.994), respectively. Physical therapists and other rehabilitation professionals can confidently use the FIST in a variety of clinical practice and research settings due to its favorable reliability characteristics. More studies are needed to describe the responsiveness and minimal clinically important level of change in FIST scores to further enhance clinical usefulness of this measure.

Highlights

Research studies indicate that sitting balance ability is a substantial predictor of functional recovery after stroke [1, 2]
The function in sitting test (FIST) was designed as a concise test of functional sitting balance in patients following acute stroke [3] and another study supports the validity of the FIST in the inpatient rehabilitation population [6]
ICC(2,1) for intrarater reliability was calculated for the 16 therapist raters who scored the videos at the two time points and was found to be excellent (ICC = 0.99, 95% CI 0.991–0.995, n = 16)

Summary

Introduction

Research studies indicate that sitting balance ability is a substantial predictor of functional recovery after stroke [1, 2]. The function in sitting test (FIST) was designed as a concise test of functional sitting balance in patients following acute stroke [3] and another study supports the validity of the FIST in the inpatient rehabilitation population [6]. This test consists of 14 everyday functional tasks, quantifying sitting balance ability and describing sitting balance at the activity level of the ICF. With the increased emphasis on the use of valid and reliable outcome measures in persons with acute onset of neurologic disorders/diseases, there is need for measures that describe activity limitations in this population [3, 8,9,10,11]

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