Christina D.C.M Faria, Luci F. Teixeira-Salmela, Sylvie Nadeau
Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, BeloHorizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-1106

Objective: To investigate the reliability and construct and criterion-related validities of the Timed “Up and Go” Assessment of Biomechanical Strategies (TUG-ABS), when used with subjects with hemiparesis due to stroke within clinical settings.
Design/methods: Construct validity was investigated by the following methods: the known groups, convergence, discriminant analyses, and the opinions of clinical professionals, who used the TUG-ABS with subjects with stroke. The criterion-related validity was investigated by comparing the real-time and video observation scores. Inter-rater reliability was investigated by two independent examiners using both real-time and video observations.
Results: The TUG-ABS differentiated people with stroke from healthy controls (p < 0. 001), was correlated with the time spent to perform the TUG (rs = –0. 85; p < 0. 001), and correctly classified 98% of the subjects with stroke (p < 0. 001). In addition, all of the clinicians who used the TUG-ABS in the clinical setting, provided positive evaluations. Agreement was also observed between real-time and video observations (0. 27 ≤ kappa ≤ 0. 85; p < 0. 01). Furthermore, the TUG-ABS was reliable for both real-time (0. 24 ≤ kappa ≤ 1. 00; p < 0. 05) and video observations (0. 15 ≤ kappa ≤ 0. 94; p < 0. 05).
Conclusion: The TUG-ABS demonstrated good construct and criterion-related validity, as well as reliability, when applied in subjects with stroke within clinical settings, which supported the theoretical assumptions employed for its development.