Purpose: To investigate the internal consistency, inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of a disability stroke activity scale (SAS) for stroke patients. Its intended use is as a measure of motor function at the level of disability in stroke patients.
Method: Twelve stroke in-patients were video-recorded performing the five activities from the SAS. Seven senior physiotherapists, experienced in stroke care, independently rated the recordings on two occasions, three weeks apart, using the SAS. Twelve hospital inpatients participated in the study. The subjects were aged between 48 and 86 and were between 6 and 87 days post stroke.
Results: Reliability for total scores was found to be excellent (generalizability correlation co-efficient (GCC) values> or =0.95) and reliability for individual item scores was good (kappa> or =0.7). Internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha was also good (0.68 at time 1 and 0.68 at time 2).
Conclusion: The stroke activity scale is a reliable instrument for hospital stroke patients. It can be administered in less than 10 minutes and requires minimal equipment and training. Further work on the validity and responsiveness of the SAS is in progress.