Abstract
The ascendance of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Heath (ICF) as the global standard for describing and characterizing aspects of disability
has refocused attention on the role that environmental factors (EFs) have on the health
and participation of people with disabilities, both as individuals and as a group.
There has been a rise in the development of instruments designed to measure EFs alone
and in relation to participation. Some instrument developers have used the ICF as
a theoretical base for instrument development and to substantiate content validity
claims. We contend that this is a misapplication of the ICF. There is a need to step
back and reexamine the role that environmental theories can play in developing a conceptually
driven approach to measuring the interaction between EFs and participation. For this
review, we draw on the fields of social, community, and developmental psychology;
disability studies; gerontology; public health; and rehabilitation. We discuss different
approaches to the measurement of EFs. We suggest that given the complex nature of
EFs and their influence on participation, there is a need for a fresh approach to
EF measurement. The thoughtful application of theories and the use of advanced psychometric,
measurement, and e-technologies and data visualization methods may enable researchers
and clinicians to better quantify, document, and communicate the dynamic interrelationship
between EFs and participation and health outcomes for people with disabilities at
the individual, group, and population levels.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), CAT (computer adaptive testing), EF (environmental factor), EMA (ecological momentary analysis), ESM (experience sampling method), GIS (geographic information system), ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health), IRT (item response theory)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
Supported in part by The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research through a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Improving Measurement of Medical Rehabilitation Outcomes grant (grant no. H133B090024); and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation (grant no. 290474). The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research or the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.
Disclosures: none.
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© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Environmental Barriers and Supports to Everyday Participation: A Qualitative Insider Perspective From People With DisabilitiesArchives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationVol. 96Issue 4
- Environmental Factors Item Development for Persons With Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Spinal Cord InjuryArchives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationVol. 96Issue 4
- PreviewTo describe methods used in operationalizing environmental factors; to describe the results of a research project to develop measures of environmental factors that affect participation; and to define an initial item set of facilitators and barriers to participation after stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury.
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- Development of Self-Report Measures of Social Attitudes That Act As Environmental Barriers and Facilitators for People With DisabilitiesArchives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationVol. 96Issue 4
- Re: “Theoretical Foundations for the Measurement of Environmental Factors and Their Impact on Participation Among People With Disabilities”Archives of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationVol. 96Issue 9
- PreviewWith great interest we read the article by Magasi et al1 emphasizing the need to develop new theoretical and methodologic approaches toward a better understanding of the impact of the environment on people's lived experience of health. We fully share this objective. We would nevertheless like to raise 2 issues. The first is with respect to the role of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The second is regarding the distinction between the challenge of measurement and the broader question of appropriate study designs.
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