Interrater Reliability of the Extended ICF Core Set for Stroke Applied by Physical Therapists

The primary objective of this investigation was to study the agreement between physical therapists' ratings of subjects' functioning and disability with the Extended ICF Core Set for Stroke and with the ICF qualifier scale. Further objectives were to explore the relationships between agreement and rater confidence and between agreement and physical therapists' areas of core competence.  The interrater agreement of the 2 physical therapists was moderate across all judgments. Interrater reliability was not related to rater confidence or to the physical therapists' areas of core competence.

This study suggests potential improvements to enhance the implementation of the ICF and the Extended ICF Core Set for Stroke in practice. The results hint at the importance of the operationalization of the ICF categories and the standardization of the rating process, which might be useful in controlling for rater effects and increasing reliability.

Physical Therapy, 15 May 2008, online article ahead of print

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