The Leeds Assessment Scale of Handicap: its operationalisation, reliability, validity and responsiveness in in-patient rehabilitation.

Abstract

This paper describes the application of the handicap dimension of the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps. A method of assessing four of the six roles (or areas of expected competency) was developed and applied to an in-patient population, aged 16 to 65 years, receiving specialist rehabilitation following neurological damage. Handicap assessment was a collaborative process by a multidisciplinary team. Difficulties were experienced in measuring inter-rate reliability in the busy, clinical setting. We conclude that handicap assessment in an in-patient rehabilitation unit which uses a multidisciplinary approach to treating patients with complex physical, sensory and cognitive problems is both feasible and useful. The developed scale, The Leeds Assessment Scale of Handicap, provides a valid and valuable summary of human disadvantage, complementing the common disability assessments.