Translation and validation of the French version of the spinal cord independence measure III (SCIM III).

Methods: This is a monocenter, prospective validation study. Objective: To assess the validity and reliability of the French version of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (SCIM III). Methods: This study was conducted in Center for Traumatology and Rehabilitation, Brussels (Belgium). Methods: We included eighteen (n = 18) participants with spinal cord injury (SCI), scored according to the International Standards for Neurological Classification of SCI (ISNCSCI). Backward and forward translation of SCIM III was performed. Each participant was scored for the translated SCIM III and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) by three physicians. We evaluate the internal consistency, the intra- and inter-reliability, the validity and the sensitivity to change with Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Kappa coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Pearson's correlation, paired t-test and McNemar test. For the validity, we compared SCIM III scores with those of the FIM. Results: The French SCIM III (frSCIM III) provided excellent internal consistency. Kappa values for inter-reliability were all above 0.60, except for 3 items, and were statistically significant. We found a strong correlation between raters. All the tests showed a very good intra-reliability. frSCIM III and FIM showed very good correlation. There was no significant difference in the sensitivity to change between the frSCIM III and the FIM. Conclusions: The frSCIM III proved to be a consistent, reliable, and valid scale for clinical use. It is the first functional assessment scale validated in French for people with SCI.

Background: None.