Comparison of the CIQ and CHART Short Form in assessing community integration in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the validity of the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) in measuring community integration in persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) through its comparison with the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique Short Form (CHART-SF).

DESIGN

Correlational analysis.

SETTING

Tertiary care rehabilitation hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-eight individuals with chronic SCI who completed the CIQ and CHART-SF during annual follow-up evaluation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The CIQ quantifies community integration based on subscales of Home Integration, Social Integration, and Productive Activity. The CHART-SF provides scores of community integration according to subscales of Physical Independence, Cognitive Independence, Mobility, Occupation, Social Integration, and Economic Self-Sufficiency.

RESULTS

CIQ Home Integration was significantly correlated with CHART-SF Physical Independence, Cognitive Independence, Mobility, Occupation, and Social Integration (r's = 0.47-0.57). CIQ Social Integration was significantly correlated with CHART-SF Cognitive Independence, Mobility, Occupation, and Social Integration (r's = 0.43-0.77). CIQ Productive Activity was significantly correlated only with CHART-SF Mobility and Occupation (r's = 0.39-0.41).

CONCLUSIONS

The CIQ may serve as a valid measure for examining community integration in persons with chronic SCI and may be particularly appealing given its relative brevity/simplicity in administration and scoring.