Description and validation of a test of motor function and activities in stroke patients. The Sødring Motor Evaluation of Stroke Patients

Abstract

A new method (The Sødring Motor Evaluation of Stroke Patients) has been developed for physiotherapists to evaluate motor function and activities in stroke patients. Its main characteristics are the assessment of motor activity without assisting the patient, and the use of a rating which reflects quantity as well as quality in motor performance. A hospitalised group of stroke patients (n = 93) was assessed three times after the acute event, by means of SMES. The data were analysed regarding construct validity as well as concurrent validity against another assessment method. Factor analyses showed a reasonably stable three-factor pattern ("arm", "gross motor function", and "leg") which explained 84, 89 and 90%, respectively, of the variance at the three study points, with Factor 1 ("arm") as the dominant factor. The ordinality of the rating scale was assessed by means of linear regression analysis and found to be acceptable. The correlation coefficients were high between comparable parts of the new and the reference methods.