The Pittsburgh Rehabilitation Participation Scale: reliability and validity of a clinician-rated measure of participation in acute rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate interrater reliability and predictive validity of the Pittsburgh Rehabilitation Participation Scale (PRPS), a clinician-rated 6-point Likert-type item measuring patient participation in inpatient rehabilitation sessions. DESIGN Prospective measurement of patient participation in physical and occupational therapy sessions during inpatient rehabilitation. SETTING University-based, freestanding acute rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred forty-two inpatients, primarily elderly, with a variety of impairment diagnoses (eg, stroke), who were admitted for inpatient rehabilitation. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Change in the 13 motor items from the FIM trade mark instrument, from admission to discharge. RESULTS The PRPS had high interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=.91 for occupational therapists; ICC=.96 for physical therapists). The subjects had mean PRPS scores +/- standard deviation of 4.73+/-0.76. Mean PRPS scores predicted rehabilitation outcome (N=242, r=.32, P<.0001), as measured by change in motor FIM. The strength of this association did not change in a multivariate model that controlled for age, gender, race, impairment group, medical comorbidity count, length of stay, and admission FIM. CONCLUSIONS Patient participation during acute inpatient rehabilitation can be easily and reliably measured, and PRPS scores predict functional outcome. The PRPS may have applicability in clinical and research outcome measurement.