Italian translation and reliability of Fist-Sci scale for chronic paraplegic patients: first validation study

This study translates and validates the Italian version of the Function in Sitting Test - Spinal Cord Injury (FIST-SCI) scale for chronic spinal cord injury patients. The FIST-SCI scale assesses trunk control, which is important for quality of life and independence in these patients. The study involved translating the FIST-SCI scale into Italian, assessing its validity, and testing its reliability by having two researchers administer it to the same patients. The results showed high inter-rater reliability and good content validity. The Italian version of the FIST-SCI scale appears to be a reliable tool for assessing trunk control in chronic spinal patients. This helps physiotherapists plan rehabilitation activities.

• 1
  The Italian version of the FIST-SCI scale demonstrated high inter-rater reliability, with a Pearson's R of 0.89 and an Intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.94.
• 2
  The content validity of the Italian FIST-SCI scale was excellent, as indicated by a Scale Content Validity Index of 0.91.
• 3
  Experts suggested improvements to the scale's practice, particularly regarding the evaluation of movement quality, and finding a larger surface area for lateral thrust administration.