The construct validity of the Functional Independence Measure as applied to stroke patients

The aim of this study was to examine the construct validity of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) as related to the assessment of the functional independence of stroke patients during their stay in an acute care hospital following a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Volunteer patients (n = 152) suffering from a stroke participated in the study. A number of functional, physical and neuropsychological indicators were measured upon the admission of a patient. Factor analysis was used to examine the dimensions included in the FIM. Two factors, life habits and ability, were obtained from a 14-item version of the FIM, which accounted for 76.2% of the total variance. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were then computed in order to examine the associations between physical and neuropsychological indicators, as well as with each sub-scale of the FIM. The results of this study show that the FIM measures the concept of life habits and is not solely restricted to the concept of ability as postulated by the FIM' creators. From a practical point of view, the items of the activities of daily living sub-scale of the FIM (items A-M), included in the life habits dimension, could be used alone or in combination with the items of the neuropsychological sub-scale (items N-R) to assist clinical prediction in stroke rehabilitation.