TY - JOUR T1 - Measuring physical function in patients with complex medical and postsurgical conditions: a computer adaptive approach JF - American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Y1 - 2005 A1 - Siebens, H. A1 - Andres, P. L. A1 - Pengsheng, N. A1 - Coster, W. J. A1 - Haley, S. M. KW - Activities of Daily Living/*classification KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Cohort Studies KW - Continuity of Patient Care KW - Disability Evaluation KW - Female KW - Health Services Research KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Postoperative Care/*rehabilitation KW - Prognosis KW - Recovery of Function KW - Rehabilitation Centers KW - Rehabilitation/*standards KW - Sensitivity and Specificity KW - Sickness Impact Profile KW - Treatment Outcome AB - OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the range of disability in the medically complex and postsurgical populations receiving rehabilitation is adequately sampled by the new Activity Measure--Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC), and to assess whether computer adaptive testing (CAT) can derive valid patient scores using fewer questions. DESIGN: Observational study of 158 subjects (mean age 67.2 yrs) receiving skilled rehabilitation services in inpatient (acute rehabilitation hospitals, skilled nursing facility units) and community (home health services, outpatient departments) settings for recent-onset or worsening disability from medical (excluding neurological) and surgical (excluding orthopedic) conditions. Measures were interviewer-administered activity questions (all patients) and physical functioning portion of the SF-36 (outpatients) and standardized chart items (11 Functional Independence Measure (FIM), 19 Standardized Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) items, and 22 Minimum Data Set (MDS) items). Rasch modeling analyzed all data and the relationship between person ability estimates and average item difficulty. CAT assessed the ability to derive accurate patient scores using a sample of questions. RESULTS: The 163-item activity item pool covered the range of physical movement and personal and instrumental activities. CAT analysis showed comparable scores between estimates using 10 items or the total item pool. CONCLUSION: The AM-PAC can assess a broad range of function in patients with complex medical illness. CAT achieves valid patient scores using fewer questions. VL - 84 N1 - 0894-9115 (Print)Comparative StudyJournal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. ER -