The experience of using the scale of functional independence measure in individuals undergoing spinal cord injury rehabilitation in Brazil.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the level and completeness of the injury with Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score and the validity and responsiveness of the FIM in Brazilian individuals with spinal cord injury admitted to rehabilitation.

SETTING: SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals, Brasília, Brazil.

METHODS: A total of 218 patients with spinal cord injury admitted for rehabilitation in 2006 was included in this study. The validity was assessed as the ability of the FIM to discriminate different levels of disability (cervical, thoracic and lumbar) at admission and the responsiveness was obtained by analyzing admission and discharge data for each of the three injury groups.

RESULTS: Total FIM score, motor FIM score and each of the 13 items were valid when comparing three groups and comparing groups two by two, except the items 'eating' and 'grooming' among paraplegics, and 'stairs' at cervical and thoracic levels. The scale was not responsive to the five cognitive items, 'stairs' and 'eating', among paraplegics, or 'grooming', 'bathing' and 'dressing upper body' in lumbar level patients. The patient difficulty in performing tasks can vary among populations. Therefore, the continuous evaluation process of psychometric characteristics is important to validate the use of the instrument in different contexts.