Content area
Full Text
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, Vol. 15, No. 2, June 2005 ( CDOI: 10.1007/s10926-005-1219-7Development of a new pictorial activity and task sort and examination of its reliability and
validity is described. The Multidimensional Task Ability Profile (MTAP) is the latest in a
series of measures that use a combination of drawings and task descriptions in a self-report
format to assess functional capacity. The MTAP is found to be reliable on a test-retest and
split-half basis. The concurrent validity of the MTAP was examined in performance testing
of lift capacity. Results demonstrate that the MTAP has good concurrent validity.KEY WORDS: function sorts; functional capacity evaluation; self-report measures; questionnaires.INTRODUCTIONSelf-report assessment through the use of pictorial activity and task sorts is an efficient
means of gathering information about functional capacity. In a brief period of time, a large
amount of information can be collected that reflects the evaluees perception of his or her
strength, endurance, work capacity, tool use abilities, and other information that is valuable
for rehabilitation planning. These measures often are used in conjunction with functional
capacity evaluation (FCE) to cross-reference self-perceived abilities with measured abilities.A recent review of the design characteristics and uses of pictorial activity and task sorts(1) describe the history of these instruments and their uses. The focus of this paper is on one
of the applications described in this review that has the potential to facilitate measurementdriven rehabilitation services and significantly reduce the cost of FCEs. This application
can also be used as a self-report assessment instrument in serial testing as a substitute for
repeated performance testing to mark progress in treatment. Once the self-report instrument
has been calibrated on the evaluee during the FCE, repeated measurement with the selfreport instrument provides indicators of improvement without the need to do more elaborate
and expensive performance testing. The information provided by the self-report instrument
used in this way allows the clinicians and case manager to confirm that progressing in
treatment and also indicates when follow-up performance testing is necessary. Compared1US Spine & Sport Foundation, 3444 Kearny Villa Road, Suite 307, San Diego, California.2Correspondence should be directed to John Mayer, US Spine & Sport Foundation, 3444 Kearny Villa Road, Suite
307, San Diego, California 92123; e-mail: [email protected]/05/0600-0203/0 C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2005)Reliability and...