Article

There is preliminary evidence regarding the validity of the Six-Spot
Step Test (SSST) as a promising measure of ambulatory function in persons with
multiple sclerosis (MS). To date, this assessment has not been subject to the
same rigor and extent of psychometric evaluation as other widely-accepted
measures of ambulatory (e.g., timed 25-foot walk (T25FW)).
This study
aimed to provide additional validity evidence for the SSST in 96 persons with MS,
based on construct validity and precision. Construct validity involves examining
the pattern of associations between the SSST and other measures, and precision
involves comparing SSST performance relative to other valid measures of
ambulation for differentiating between levels of disability status, MS clinical
course, and fall risk based on balance confidence. METHODS: All participants
completed the SSST, T25FW, Timed Up-and-Go (TUG), six-minute walk, Multiple
Sclerosis Walking Scale-12, Late-Life Function and Disability Inventory,
Activities-specific Balance Confidence, and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test.
All participants further underwent a neurological examination for generating EDSS
scores, and then wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for the waking hours of a 7-day
period. RESULTS: SSST performance was strongly associated with other valid
measures of ambulation (|rho| = .65-.90) and disability status (rho = .73),
moderately-to-strongly associated with balance confidence (rho = .58), and
weakly-to-moderately associated with cognitive processing speed and
non-ambulatory measures (|rho| = .35-.39). The SSST demonstrated stronger
relative precision in discriminating between levels of disability status, MS
clinical course, and fall risk based on balance confidence than the T25FW and TUG. CONCLUSIONS: We provide comprehensive validity evidence for the SSST that
supports its consideration for inclusion alongside other highly-regarded
objective measures of ambulatory function for clinical research and practice in
persons with MS.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS