Reliability of the clinical outcome variables scale when administered via telephone to assess mobility in people with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine the equivalence reliability and test-retest reliability of the Clinical Outcome Variables Scale (COVS) when administered via telephone (TCOVS) to people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Equivalence (telephone administration vs in-person) and test-retest reliability study.

Setting: Assessments conducted in participants' home environment.

Participants: Equivalence reliability was examined in a convenience sample of 37 people with a diagnosis of traumatic SCI who had been discharged from the Queensland Spinal Injuries Unit to the community. In a separate group of participants, test-retest reliability of COVS when administered via telephone was examined in 43 people with SCI who were randomly selected from the Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service records.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: Reliability was assessed at the subscale and composite score level using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2,1)) and Bland-Altman limits of agreement.

Results: Reliability was good for TCOVS and COVS for the composite score (ICC=.98), mobility subscale (ICC=.97), and ambulation subscale (ICC=.99). Reliability was also good for TCOVS test and retest assessments for the composite score (ICC=1), mobility subscale (ICC=1), and ambulation subscale (ICC=1). For all comparisons, most data points were within the 95% limits of agreement and the width of limits of agreement were considered to be clinically acceptable.

Conclusions: The study findings confirm the equivalence and test-retest reliability of the TCOVS in an SCI population when administered by trained raters.