Comparison of scoring methods for the participation assessment with recombined tools-objective

Abstract

Objective: To develop and compare 2 scoring algorithms for a measure of participation, the Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective (PART-O) based on the assumption that more participation is better versus an alternative that reflects balance in domains of participation.

Design: Survey.

Setting: Community settings.

Participants: Three groups of participants under the age of 65 years were included: (1) persons with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and other disorders who are commonly treated in acute rehabilitation settings (n=220), and (2) participants from the general population who did (n=366) or (3) did not (n=284) self-report limitations indicative of a disability who participated in the 2006 Colorado Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N=870).

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measure: PART-O.

Results: We developed PART-O subscores using a consensus process and then evaluated them empirically. We combined subscores using 2 contrasting algorithms, one using average scores and the other reflecting the amount of participation and variation in participation across 3 domains. The algorithms for the total scores yielded normal distributions in all 3 samples and were equally sensitive to the impact of disability. While strongly correlated, about 30% of the variance of the 2 total scores was not shared.

Conclusions: Two scoring algorithms for the PART-O illustrate contrasting perspectives of the construct of participation. The 2 algorithms may be used in future studies to expand our understanding of the construct of participation.