Exploratory Factorial Study of the Adapted UAO Applied to Stroke Patients

Abstract

The adapted Uniform Assessment of Outcome (UAO) is an assessment of the functional status related to the activities of daily living (ADLs) and to motor and neuropsychologic aspects. To our knowledge, no validation study examines the number and the significance of the dimensions measured by the adapted UAO. The purpose of this study is to examine the construct validity of the adapted UAO in the assessment of the functional independence of stroke patients following a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), during their stay in a rehabilitation center. A factorial analysis was performed on retrospectively collected data on 424 adult stroke patients who underwent rehabilitation between 1987 and 1992. The results of this study have shown that the adapted UAO principally measures the concept of life habits (handicap situation) but also measures the concept of ability (disability). Our findings demonstrate the importance of developing quantitative estimates of stroke functional independence.

Keywords:

• functional independence
• stroke
• validity