Factor Structure of an ICF-Based Measure of Activity and Participations for Adults in Taiwan's Disability Eligibility Determination System

To assess activity and participation for adults in Taiwan's Disability Eligibility Determination System (DEDS), we developed a measure, the Functioning Disability Evaluation Scale—Adult version (FUNDES-Adult), based on the 36-item interviewer-administered version of the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structures of performance and capability dimensions of the FUNDES-Adult. This study followed a methodology research design to investigate the construct validity of the two dimensions of the FUNDES-Adult. Two samples were randomly stratified from the databank of adults with disabilities to examine structural validity by the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 8,730, mean age of 52.9 ± 16.81) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 500, mean age of 54.3 ± 16.81). The results demonstrated that the EFA yielded 5-factor structures for both performance dimension (73.5% variance explained) and capability dimension (75.9% variance explained). The CFA indicated that the second-order factor structures of both dimensions were more parsimonious with adequate fit indices (GFI, NFI, CFI, and TLI ≥ 0.95, RMSEA < 0.09). The results of this study provide evidence that the FUNDES-Adult has acceptable structural validity for use in Taiwan's DEDS. Utility of the FUNDES-Adult in rehabilitation, employment, welfare, and long-term care services needs further study.