The relationship between self-reports and objective measures of disability in patients with late sequelae of poliomyelitis: a validation study.

OBJECTIVE

To establish the validity of 2 objective measures of disability based on 2 self-reports in individuals with the late sequelae of poliomyelitis (LSP).

DESIGN

Nonexperimental research design.

SETTING

Regional ambulatory clinic specializing in the management of patients with LSP.

PARTICIPANTS

Seventeen community dwellers with LSP.

INTERVENTION: Completion of 2 exercise tests: the 6-minute walk (6-MW) test and a steady-rate walking test to calculate the cardiorespiratory conditioning index (CRCI), and 2 health status questionnaires: the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) and Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 6-MW distance and the CRCI, and scores from the physical dimensions of the SIP and the SF-36.

RESULTS

The 6-MW distance correlated significantly with the physical dimension scores of both the SIP (r = -.57, p < .05) and the SF-36 (r = .67, p < .05). Significant correlations were also observed between the CRCI and the physical dimension scores of the SIP (r = -.51, p < .05) and the SF-36 (r = .70, p < .01). The 2 objective measures correlated significantly with each other (r = .51, p < .05) as did the 2 physical dimension scores of the SIP and the SF-36 (r = -.80, p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Although objective measures of disability corroborated self-reports of patients with LSP and, thus, supported their validity, each measure has a distinct role in clinical decision making.