Content validation of a clinical assessment instrument for stair ascent and descent in individuals with hemiparesis

BACKGROUND: Among the current instruments used to assess stair ambulation, none were observed that specifically evaluated the quality of movement or biomechanical strategies adopted by stroke patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the content validity of a clinical instrument designed to identify the qualitative and kinematic characteristics and strategies adopted by stroke patients during stair ascent and descent. METHOD: The first developed version, which comprised 80 items, had its content evaluated by an expert panel, which was composed of 9 well-known national and international professionals who are involved in stroke rehabilitation. The content validity index (CVI) and modified Kappa coefficients were employed for the statistical analyses. The items that demonstrated a CVI≥0.80 and Kappa≥0.75 were considered valid. RESULTS: The content validation was performed in three stages. The final version of the instrument consisted of 38 items, which were divided into descriptive (8 items), a General Characteristics Domain (16 items) and adopted strategies (14 items) during stair ascent and descent. The total scores ranged from zero to 70 and zero to 74 for ascent and descent, respectively. Lower scores corresponded with better performance. CONCLUSION: Despite the satisfactory results obtained during the process of content validation, other psychometric properties of the instrument are necessary and must be evaluated.