The Sport Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale: a reliable scale for use in clinical physiotherapy

ObjectiveTo evaluate, through two studies, the factor structure, inter-rater agreement, and test–retest and inter-rater reliability of the Sport Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale (SIRAS).DesignRepeated measures design in both Study 1 (video evaluation) and Study 2 (clinical evaluation).SettingUniversity department (Study 1) and outpatient physiotherapy department (Study 2).ParticipantsSixty physiotherapists and physiotherapy students in Study 1 and 45 patients undergoing physiotherapy treatment for a musculoskeletal injury in Study 2.InterventionIn Study 1, participants rated the adherence of a simulated videotaped patient demonstrating high, moderate and low adherence during rehabilitation. In Study 2, two physiotherapists rated the adherence of patients at two consecutive rehabilitation sessions.Main outcome measureThe SIRAS.ResultsIn Study 1, principal components analysis confirmed a single factor for the SIRAS, and inter-rater agreement values ranged from 0.87 to 0.93. In Study 2, inter-rater and test–retest reliability coefficients ranged from 0.76 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54 to 0.83] to 0.89 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.95), and from 0.63 (95% CI 0.36–0.82) to 0.76 (95% CI 0.55–0.88), respectively.ConclusionThe SIRAS is a reliable measure with high inter-rater agreement when used to evaluate clinic-based adherence to physiotherapy rehabilitation for musculoskeletal injury.