Using a Mobile App-Based International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health Set to Assess the Functioning of Spinal Cord Injury Patients: Rasch Analysis

BACKGROUND: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a unified system of functioning terminology that has been used to develop electronic health records and assessment instruments. Its application has been limited, however, by its complex terminology, numerous categories, uncertain operationalization, and the training required to use it well. Together is a mobile health app designed to extend medical support to the families of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in China. The app’s core framework is a set of only 31 ICF categories. The app also provides rating guidelines and automatically transforms routine assessment results to the terms of the ICF qualifiers. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research is to examine the suitability of the ICF set used in the app Together for use as an instrument for assessing the functioning of SCI patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted including 112 SCI patients recruited before discharge from four rehabilitation centers in China between May 2018 and October 2019. Nurses used the app to assess patient functioning in face-to-face interviews. The resulting data were then subjected to Rasch analysis. RESULTS: After deleting two categories (family relationships and socializing) and one personal factor (knowledge about spinal cord injury) that did not fit the Rasch model, the body functions and body structures, activities and participation, and contextual factors components of the ICF exhibited adequate fit to the Rasch model. All three demonstrated acceptable person separation indices. The 28 categories retained in the set were free of differential item functioning by gender, age, education level, or etiology. CONCLUSIONS: Together overcomes some of the obstacles to practical application of the ICF. The app is a reliable assessment tool for assessing functioning after spinal cord injury.