Measurement Properties' Evaluation of the Arabic Version of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

• Published in: Healthcare (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 11; p. 1560
• Main Authors: Alsubiheen, Abdulrahman M, Alzain, Nawaf A, Albishi, Alaa M, Shaheen, Afaf A M, Aldaihan, Mishal M, Almurdi, Muneera M, Alqahtani, Abdulfattah S, Alderaa, Asma A, Alnahdi, Ali H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.05.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Complications and side effects; Consent; Disability; Disability evaluation; Evaluation; functional ability; Health surveys; Methods; Multiple sclerosis; outcome measures; Parkinson's disease; Patients; Quality of life; reliability and validity; Surveys; Young adults; Saudi Arabia; functional ability; outcome measures; disability; multiple sclerosis; reliability and validity
• ISSN: 2227-9032; 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11111560

: The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the patient-specific functional scale (PSFS-Ar) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) disorder. : Reliability and validity were examined in patients with multiple sclerosis using a longitudinal cohort study design. One hundred (N = 100) patients with MS were recruited to examine the PSFS-Ar, test-retest reliability (using the interclass correlation coefficient model 2,1 (ICC )), construct validity (using the hypothesis testing method), and floor-ceiling effect. : A total of 100 participants completed the PSFS-Ar (34% male, 66% female). The PSFS-Ar showed an excellent test-retest reliability score (ICC = 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.93). The SEM of the PSFS-Ar was 0.80, while the MDC was 1.87, indicating an acceptable measurement error. The construct validity of the PSFS-Ar was 100% correlated with the predefined hypotheses. As hypothesized, the correlation analysis revealed positive correlations between the PSFS-Ar and the RAND-36 domains of physical functioning (0.5), role limitations due to physical health problems (0.37), energy/fatigue (0.35), and emotional well-being (0.19). There was no floor or ceiling effect in this study. : The study results showed that the PSFS-Ar is a self-reported outcome measure that is useful for detecting specific functional difficulties in patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients are able to express and report a variety of functional limitations easily and effectively, as well as to measure their response to physical therapy. The PSFS-Ar is, therefore, recommended for use in Arabic-speaking countries for clinical practice and research for patients with multiple sclerosis.