Objective: To describe the development of a classification for therapeutic activities in clinical spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation.
Design: Descriptive study including a modified Delphi consensus method.
Setting: Specialized SCI units of 10 rehabilitation facilities.
Participants: Thirty physical therapists, occupational therapists, and sports therapists from 10 Dutch and Flemish SCI centers.
Main outcome measures: Identification of the levels, categories, and interventions; level of agreement among experts with (1) definitions, (2) terminology, (3) relevance, and (4) completeness of the classification (consensus considered sufficient if 80% or more agree).
Results: The classification comprises three levels of functioning: basic functions, basic activities, and complex activities. The three levels comprise 28 categories within which interventions are listed. Sufficient consensus was obtained for the definitions of the three levels (range, 87%-100%). Percentages of consensus for the terminology used and the completeness of the categories ranged from 75% to 100%. The perceived relevance of the categories for everyday work varied per discipline.
Conclusion: A potentially useful classification was developed to record clinical treatment sessions in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and sports therapy for persons with SCI. The classification is currently being tested in ongoing research.