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This secondary analysis quantified the psychometric properties of the Ohio Modified Arm-Motor Ability Test (OMAAT) in a sample of neurologically stable chronic stroke survivors (n = 67, 40 men; mean age 59.8 yr, standard deviation = 12.8; 42 White, 23 Black, 2 other; 92.5% right-sided lesion; 44 ischemic stroke). Findings indicate high OMAAT internal consistency (Cronbach's a = .97, ordinal a = .98, Gugiu's bootstrap reliability = .97), unidimensionality, and strong positive factor loadings for all 20 OMAAT items. Convergent validity between OMAAT and Action Research Arm Test total scores was strong (r = .90, p < .0001). The OMAAT is the first short measure of upper extremity functional limitation available to clinicians and researchers that includes an administration manual and that has been examined using nonparametric psychometrics. A detailed administration manual is provided as a supplement to this article.
Upper extremity (UE) hemiparesis remains a commonly encountered motor impairment after a variety of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. When these debilitating conditions occur, measurement of clients' UE functional limitation levels is critical to designing cost-effective, appropriate interventions and to determining whether clients are increasing their ability to perform activities likely to be carried out in the community.
The Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT; Kopp et al., 1997) is often used to measure UE functional limitation in rehabilitative trials enrolling stroke survivors (e.g., Levy et al., 2016; Page, Levin, Hermann, Dunning, & Levine, 2012; Singer, Vallence, Cleary, Cooper, & Loftus, 2013) and could likely be applied to other conditions with paretic UEs. It requires clients to perform 13 common unilateral and bilateral UE tasks. Performance on each task is timed by the evaluator, rated by the evaluator using a 6-point functional ability scale (ranging from 0 [does not perform with affected arm] to 5 [does use arm at a level comparable to unaffected side]) that examines paretic UE use, and rated by the evaluator using a 6-point quality of movement scale (ranging from 0 [no movement initiated] to 5 [normal movement]). In addition, the evaluator must also time and rate performance for AMAT task components (e.g., picking up and using eating utensils). In total, the AMAT includes 13 compound tasks consisting of 28 task components. Consequently, when performed in accord with its original instructions (Kopp...