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Translation and validation of the French version of the spinal cord independence measure III (SCIM III)

Spinal Cord volume 63, pages 359–365 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Study design

This is a monocenter, prospective validation study.

Objectives

To assess the validity and reliability of the French version of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (SCIM III).

Setting

This study was conducted in Center for Traumatology and Rehabilitation, Brussels (Belgium).

Methods

We included eighteen (n = 18) participants with spinal cord injury (SCI), scored according to the International Standards for Neurological Classification of SCI (ISNCSCI). Backward and forward translation of SCIM III was performed. Each participant was scored for the translated SCIM III and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) by three physicians. We evaluate the internal consistency, the intra- and inter-reliability, the validity and the sensitivity to change with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, Kappa coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Pearson’s correlation, paired t-test and McNemar test. For the validity, we compared SCIM III scores with those of the FIM.

Results

The French SCIM III (frSCIM III) provided excellent internal consistency. Kappa values for inter-reliability were all above 0.60, except for 3 items, and were statistically significant. We found a strong correlation between raters. All the tests showed a very good intra-reliability. frSCIM III and FIM showed very good correlation. There was no significant difference in the sensitivity to change between the frSCIM III and the FIM.

Conclusion

The frSCIM III proved to be a consistent, reliable, and valid scale for clinical use. It is the first functional assessment scale validated in French for people with SCI.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Centre for Traumatology and Rehabilitation, which provided the opportunity to conduct this research under optimal conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation–Center for Traumatology and Rehabilitation, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Clara Dupriez, Antoine Royer, Emiko Naets, Violaine Afzali & Kambiz Minooee Saberi

Authors
  1. Clara Dupriez
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  2. Antoine Royer
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  3. Emiko Naets
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  4. Violaine Afzali
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  5. Kambiz Minooee Saberi
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Contributions

DC wrote the protocol submitted to the ethics committee, conducted the research, recruited participants, collected data, analyzed and interpreted the results, and wrote the manuscript. RA proposed the study topic, reviewed the protocol submitted to the ethics committee, reviewed the manuscript submitted to this journal, and participated in data collection. NE participated as a translator, collected data, reviewed the manuscript submitted to this journal. AV collected data. MK reviewed the protocol submitted to the ethics committee and reviewed the manuscript submitted to this journal.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clara Dupriez.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

This study protocol was approved by the institutional Ethics Committee of the Erasme Hospital. The study number is P2022-282. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant institutional and governmental guidelines and regulations. The authors certify that all applicable ethical standards concerning the use of human volunteers were followed throughout the study. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their involvement in the study.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Dupriez, C., Royer, A., Naets, E. et al. Translation and validation of the French version of the spinal cord independence measure III (SCIM III). Spinal Cord 63, 359–365 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-025-01082-0

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