Subjective weighting of disability: An approach to quality of life assessment in rehabilitation

Abstract

The impact of various disabilities may differ greatly from individual to individual. Therefore, for a full assessment of a rehabilitee, objective aspects of disability should be supplemented with disability perception. The purpose of this study was to construct a self-administered questionnaire of 39 abilities/activities based on the ICIDH D-code, with parallel questions about ‘(dis)ability’ and ‘impact’. The instrument was used to obtain data from 60 disabled people. Fifty forms (83%) were returned from 25 patients with spinal cord injury and 25 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Mean time to fill out the questionnaire was 24 minutes. A first attempt to validate the ‘weighted score’ with an open question about the most negative aspects of the disease showed a (very) good correspondence in 74%. An information gain as a result of the impact question was noted in 44%. This instrument has attractive properties for clinical use and research purposes in rehabilitation medicine. It was developed for the identification of needs of individual patients. The ‘weighted scores’ allow the setting of priorities in an individually tailored rehabilitation programme. Future applications might include monitoring the progress of a rehabilitee and identification of group needs.

Key Words:

• ICIDH assessment
• quality of life

Additional information

Notes on contributors

G. J. Lankhorst

It is with great sadness that we have to inform the readership of the Journal that shortly after completing the final editorial work on this Special Issue, Professor Kalman Jacob Mann was seriously injured in a car accident and subsequently died.

Professor Mann was responsible for establishing the two Hadassah Hospitals and Community Health Centres in Jerusalem and for the past 20 years headed the Presidium of Yad Sarah, Israel's largest community based, volunteer operated organization which provides a spectrum of free or nominal cost home care services nation-wide.

We offer our condolences to his family and friends, and trust that this Special Issue stands as a testament to his work in the field.