The FAI assesses frequency of doing Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL); the index includes items which reflect the patient’s behavior in the areas of domestic chores, leisure/work, and outdoor activities (Holbrook & Skilbeck 1983). A revised 13-item FAI* has recently been assessed among SCI patients. The following summary therefore focuses on the revised FAI.

Number of items: 13

Procedure/Administration: Self administered or interview format. Items include washing up; preparing main meals; washing clothes; driving car/bus travel; light housework; heavy housework; local shopping; social occasions; actively pursuing hobby; gainful work; travel outings/car rides; gardening; and household/car maintenance. 

How scored: Responses measure the frequency of engaging in an activity on a 2 and 3 point ordinal scale. Four items (washing up, washing clothes, driving a car/bus travel, and gainful work) are scored on a 2-point scale. The 9 other items are scored on a 3-point scale. Total score are derived by summing the score from each item and range from 0 (no activity) to 22 (most frequently doing the activities).

Interpretability: Higher scores indicate greater frequency of doing IADL. The raw scores of the 13-item FAI can be transformed to interval scores thereby enabling clinicians and researchers to quantify and monitor IADL function in SCI patients (Hsieh et al. 2007).

Acceptability: The 13 item revised FAI was developed specifically for use with SCI patients.

Languages: English

Usability: The revised 13-item scale is brief, quick to complete, and reflects the everyday activities of normal living

Time to administer: Between 5 and 15 minutes

Time to score: N/a

Training required: Minimal

Availability: N/a

Equipment required: N/a

Summary: The FAI does not assess whether patients can perform IADL.

Psychometric Summary

TR= Test re-test; IC= Internal Consistency; Inter-O=Inter-observer; Intra-O=Intra-observer; SS=Sensitivity/Specificity.

Red light= A single study involving SCI subjects which has less than adequate findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Yellow light= A single study involving subjects with SCI which has adequate to excellent findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

Green light= At least 2 studies involving subjects with SCI which have adequate to excellent findings of reliability, validity, and/or responsiveness.

N/a= No information.

* Based on Rasch analysis and the authors’ findings that the results assess a single, unidimensional IADL for SCI patients living in the community.

References

• Holbrook M, Skilbeck CE. An Activities Index for use with stroke patients. Age and Ageing 1983; 12: 166-170.
• Hsieh CL, Jang Y, Yu TY, Wang WC, Sheu CF, Wang YH. A Rasch analysis of the Frenchay Activities Index in patients with spinal cord injury. Spine 2007; 32: 437-442.