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Richard N Ross

Publications and source records attributed to Richard N Ross.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Staging functional independence validity and applications.

OBJECTIVES: To establish construct and predictive validity of the activities of daily living, sphincter-management, mobility, and executive-function (ASME) staging system of functional independence and to describe potential applications. DESIGN: National data were used to validate the stages. Sensitivity to functional change was addressed by comparing patients' stages at discharge to their stages at admission. Construct validity was assessed by examining stage distribution differences among groups of patients classified by impairment category. Predictive validity was determined by the degree to which high stages at admission predict discharge to the community and low stages at admission predict serious morbidity or mortality. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Data from 231,686 individuals discharged from 560 US inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 1995. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Stage at rehabilitation discharge, community discharge, acute hospital discharge, or death while in rehabilitation. RESULTS: More than 90% of patients were discharged at a higher stage in at least 1 domain while not declining in any other domain. The odds (95% confidence interval) of community discharge for patients admitted at the highest compared with the lowest stage varied from 2.1 (1.9-2.2) to 3.1 (2.9-3.2), depending on the domain. The odds of acute hospitalization or death were reduced at the highest stages, compared with the lowest, by a factor ranging from .33 (.22-.49) to .65 (.61-.69). CONCLUSIONS: The ASME stages appear valid and sensitive to change. Functional Independence Staging (FIS) has relevance in establishing prognoses and in selecting among therapeutic modalities. FIS will facilitate the identification of meaningful functional goals and interpretable clinical trial endpoints. One of its most important applications could be in the establishment of outcome indicators for quality monitoring under the prospective payment system.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Functional independence staging: conceptual foundation, face validity, and empirical derivation.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a staging system for functional independence across the activities of daily living (ADLs), sphincter-management, mobility, and executive-function domains (ASME) for the FIM instrument that is consistent with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. DESIGN: National data were used to define the stages. We searched for the most likely configurations of item scores that increased ability to perform component activities in each domain by approximately 1 level per item per stage. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Data from 218,290 people discharged from 560 US inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 1995. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Activity profiles formed from FIM scores. RESULTS: Seven stages were defined separately for each ASME domain. Stages approximate the average amount of effort expended by the patient when performing the component activities included in a domain, beginning with less than 25% of effort at the lowest total assistance (stage 1) and ending with 100% effort at the highest complete independence (stage 7). Consistent with developmental principles, independence is achieved at lower stages in the most fundamental activities of eating, transfers, and communication. Recovery of independence in the more difficult activities of bathing, stair climbing, and problem solving does not occur until the higher stages are reached. The degree of independence is described with a shorthand abbreviation of the domains followed by the stage the patient has reached in each domain. For example, ASME 5,1,6,7 indicates need for supervision in the ADLs (A-5), total assistance in sphincter management (S-1), modified independence in mobility (M-6), and complete independence in executive functions (E-7). CONCLUSIONS: ASME stages serve as a common language and shorthand for expressing the functional consequences of illness and injury, while complementing information about impairment and diagnosis, thereby facilitating communication, assessment, and goal setting in terms that are meaningful to patients and their care givers.

Activities of Daily Living↗