Psychometric Evaluation of the Narrow Corridor Walk Test (NCWT) on Advanced Walking Balance in People with Stroke

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (i) the interrater and test-retest reliabilities of completion time and number of steps in the Narrow Corridor Walking Test (NCWT); (ii) the minimal detectable changes (MDCs) in NCWT results; (iii) the correlations between NCWT results and stroke-specific outcome measures; and (iv) the optimal cut-off values of NCWT results for discriminating the difference in advanced balance ability between people with stroke and healthy older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SUBJECTS: Thirty people with stroke and 30 healthy older adults. METHODS: People with stroke completed the NCWT on two separate days with a 7- to 10-day interval. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor muscle strength, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and the Chinese version of the Community Integration Measure (CIM) were used to assess. The healthy older adults completed the NCWT once. RESULTS: The NCWT completion time and NCWT steps showed excellent interrater reliability and test-retest reliability and significant correlations with FMA, affected ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength, BBS score, and TUG completion time. A cut-off value of 7.40 s for NCWT completion time and 13.33 for the NCWT steps distinguished people with stroke from healthy older adults. The MDCs of the NCWT completion time and NCWT steps were 6.87 s and 5.50, respectively. CONCLUSION: The NCWT is a reliable clinical measurement tool for the assessment of advanced balance ability in people with stroke.