Daichi Yumikawa, RPT, MHSc, Mitsuru Sato, RPT, PhD, Nobutaka Kameda, RPT
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 12: 38-47, 2021
Objective: The Kaifukuki Rehabilitation Ward
(KRW) provides patients with support for improving
the ability to perform activities of daily living and
acquiring autonomy. The ability to solve problems
independently, defined as empowerment, is crucial for
life after hospital discharge. The purpose of this study
was to develop a new empowerment scale for KRWs
and verify its validity and reliability.
Methods: This new scale was created by selecting
items suitable for KRWs from previous work on
developing empowerment scales. The assessment of
the validity and reliability of the scale and a comparison
of this scale with the Functional Independence
Measure (FIM) were performed based on 159
responses.
Results: Although three of the 18 items showed
response biases, the factor structure of the scale
showed moderate validity (RMSEA = 0.083,
correlation coefficient between subscale and total
score = 0.61-0.83). The concurrent validity and
internal consistency were generally good, and the testretest
reliability of the total score was 0.93 in the
intraclass correlation coefficients. There was no
correlation between the FIM and the new scale.
Conclusion: The developed empowerment scale has
certain validity and reliability and may provide a
different outcome than the FIM.
Key words: empowerment, autonomy, problemsolving ability, kaifukuki rehabilitation ward, daily life after discharge