The reliability and validity of the Korean version of the reaching performance scale for stroke after translation and cross-cultural adaptation

The reaching performance scale for stroke evaluates reach-to grasp movement of the upper extremity and compensatory movements. The objective of the study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the reaching performance scale for stroke into Korean and assess its reliability and validity. An expert committee supervised the forward and backward translation and the final translated Korean version of reaching performance scale for stroke (K-RPSS). Ninety-eight individuals (mean age 63.63 ± 13.13 years), with hemiplegia after stroke (97.82 ± 191.50 weeks) were evaluated independently by physiatrist and occupational therapist using K-RPSS. Degree of the motor impairment and functional status of patients were evaluated with the Fugl-Meyer assessment for upper limb and manual function test. The K-RPSS demonstrated excellent intra-rater (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.9865), inter-rater (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.9866) reliability, and internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.977 for total score). The validity of K-RPSS was confirmed with strong correlation with Fugl-Meyer assessment and manual function test. The K-RPSS had ceiling effect and the 3 points is the score change needed to indicate a change in a patient. K-RPSS has been shown to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing the compensation and movement quality of the upper limb and trunk when performing a reach-to grasp task. The K-RPSS is expected to be used widely by Korean speaking clinicians and researchers.