Abstract
Study design
Psychometric study.
Objective
To validate the Italian version of the Van Lieshout Test Short Version (VLT-SV) with a spinal cord injury population.
Setting
Three Italian spinal units.
Methods
The Italian version of the VLT-SV (VLT-SV-IT) was administered to a sample of people with cervical spinal cord injuries (C-SCI) and the test–retest was performed. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency and the intraclass correlation coefficient for repeatability assessment (test–retest). Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated for concurrent validity with the Italian version of the Jebsen–Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT) and for construct validity with the Italian version of the Spinal Cord Injury Independence Measure (SCIM III).
Results
The VLT-SV-IT was administered to 61 individuals and all psychometric properties were significant: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.95 (left hand and right hand) and the intraclass correlation coefficient for test–retest reliability was 0.90 for the right hand, the left hand, and the total score. Pearson’s correlation coefficient of the VLT-SV-IT with the JTHFT was significant, while the correlation with SCIM III was not. The obtained values are considered acceptable and consistent with international guidelines.
Conclusions
The VLT-SV-IT was shown to be a reliable and valid assessment tool for measuring hand function in the Italian population with C-SCI. This result suggests that it could be used as a starting point for hand therapy and to assist in clinical decision-making regarding treatment policy.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge those who participated in the surveys; their collective expertise greatly informed the development of the Italian version of the VLT.
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BA, GG, and MMA: Conceived and/or designed the work that led to the submission, acquired data, and/or played an important role in interpreting the results. BA and TM: Drafted or revised the manuscript. DSR, FG, and VD: Approved the final version.
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We certify that all applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed during the course of this research. All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008
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Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.
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Berardi, A., Biondillo, A., Màrquez, M.A. et al. Validation of the short version of the Van Lieshout Test in an Italian population with cervical spinal cord injuries: a cross-sectional study. Spinal Cord 57, 339–345 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-018-0226-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-018-0226-4
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