Measuring subjective quality of life following spinal cord injury: a validation study of the assistive technology device predisposition assessment

Purpose: Assesses the validity of a subset of items of the Assistive Technology Device Predisposition Assessment (ATD PA) as a measure of quality of life (QOL) for persons with new spinal cord injury. Method: Subjects completed the ATD PA QOL subset, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) while in acute rehabilitation. The internal reliability of the QOL subset of the ATD PA was assessed. Concurrent validity of the ATD PA's QOL subset with the SWLS and construct validity with the BSI depression subscale was assessed using Spearman correlations. Subjects were recruited while acute rehabilitation inpatients in a general hospital and consisted of twenty persons with newly acquired SCI (10 males and 10 females). Results: Significant positive correlations between the ATD PA's QOL subset and SWLS (and significant negative correlations with the BSI depression subscale) suggest the QOL subset has concurrent and construct validity. Conclusions: The ATD PA's QOL subset appears to be a valid measure and, thus, it can be useful both in identifying subjective quality of life and predispositions to AT use early in rehabilitation.