Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Action
Research Arm Test (ARAT) at the item level after stroke.
DESIGN: An intra-rater
and inter-rater reliability study. SUBJECTS: Thirty-five participants (median age
62 years, median time post-stroke 22 months) with impaired upper extremity
function after stroke were included in the study. METHODS: Two physiotherapists
simultaneously, but independently, assessed the participants' performance in all
19 items of the ARAT twice in 1 day. A rank-based statistical method for paired
ordinal data, including calculation of percentage agreement (PA), systematic
disagreements (relative position (RP), relative concentration (RC)) and
individual variability (relative rank variance (RV)) was used. RESULTS:
Satisfactory intra-rater and inter-rater agreement was noted for all items except
item 19, which was just below satisfactory level. Within and between raters,
small but non-negligible systematic disagreements were found for items 11, 14 and
19 and for items 1, 4, 17 and 19, respectively. There was no disagreement due to
random variance within or between raters. CONCLUSION: The ARAT is a highly
reliable observational rating scale at the item level after stroke. Awareness
regarding the small systematic disagreements demonstrated in some items is,
however, recommended when using ARAT.

Langue : ANGLAIS