Feasibility of a classification system for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and sports therapy interventions for mobility and self-care in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE

To test the feasibility of a classification system developed to record the contents of treatment sessions intended to improve mobility and self-care by persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in clinical rehabilitation.

DESIGN

Descriptive study.

SETTING

Three Dutch SCI facilities.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants (N=36) as well as physical therapists (n=20), occupational therapists (n=14), and sports therapists (n=2).

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Questionnaires to assess the clarity of the classification system, time needed to record 1 treatment session, and the distribution of categories and interventions. The classification system consisted of 28 categories at 3 levels of functioning: basic functions (eg, muscle power), basic activities (eg, transfers), and complex activities (eg, walking and moving around outside).

RESULTS

Therapists used 1625 codes to record 856 treatment sessions of 142 patients. For 93% of the treatment sessions, the coding caused little or no doubt. The therapists were able to classify 86.3% of the treatment sessions within 3 minutes. The classification system was rated as useful and easy to use.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the suitability of our classification system as a tool to record the contents of SCI treatment sessions in different settings and by different therapists.