Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Use Of Item Response Analysis To Investigate Measurement Properties And Clinical Validity Of Data For The Dynamic Gait Index, Yi-Po Chiu, Stacy L. Fritz, Kathye E. Light, Craig A. Velozo

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Background and Purpose. The Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) is a standardized clinical assessment that aids in evaluating a subject’s ability to modify gait in response to changing demands. The purpose of this study was to use Rasch measurement theory to examine whether the DGI rating scale meets suggested psychometric guidelines, whether the hierarchical order of DGI tasks is consistent with a clinically logical testing procedure, and whether the DGI represents a unidimensional construct. Subjects. Subjects were 84 community-dwelling male veterans (age range=64–88 years; mean±SD=75±6.47 years). Methods. Data were retrieved retrospectively from the participants’ clinical records. The Rasch measurement model with …