Development, reliability and validity of the Queensland evaluation of wheelchair skills (QEWS)

Abstract

Access to specialised rehabilitation is imperative for all individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). In SCI rehabilitation researchers and clinicians need established measurement tools to effectively compare outcomes of clinical trials, predict functional recovery and long-term care requirements, and to determine the efficacy of improvements in the medical management and rehabilitation of individuals with SCI. This thesis provides an overview of SCI and discusses the value and limitations of outcome measures commonly used in SCI rehabilitation. The study presented in this thesis reports on the Queensland Evaluation of Wheelchair Skills (QEWS). The QEWS is a new assessment tool developed to measure manual wheelchair skills of individuals with SCI. There were three phases of the study: 1. Development of the QEWS via a Delphi panel process. 2. Investigation of the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in 100 individuals with SCI. 3. Investigation of concurrent validity in 100 individuals with SCI and construct validity in 20 individuals with recent SCI. The QEWS was found to be a valid and reliable tool for measuring manual wheelchair skills in individuals with SCI. It is quick and easy to use while being sensitive to the small changes often seen as individuals with SCI progress through rehabilitation.