The Nordic Housing Enabler: Inter-rater reliability in cross-Nordic occupational therapy practice

Abstract

This study addresses development of a content-valid cross-Nordic version of the Housing Enabler and investigation of its inter-rater reliability when used in occupational therapy rating situations, involving occupational therapists, clients, and their home environments. The instrument was translated from the original Swedish version of the Housing Enabler, and adapted according to accessibility norms and guidelines for housing design in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. This iterative process involved occupational therapists, architects, building engineers, and professional translators, resulting in the Nordic Housing Enabler. For reliability testing, the sampling strategy and data collection procedures used were the same in all countries. Twenty voluntary occupational therapists, pair-wise but independently of each other, collected data from 106 cases by means of the Nordic Housing Enabler. Inter-rater reliability was calculated by means of percentage agreement and kappa statistics. Overall good percentage agreement for the personal and environmental components of the instrument was shown, indicating that the instrument was sufficiently reliable for application in practice and research in the Nordic context. The varying kappa results highlight the need for further study in order to understand the influence of prevalence more profoundly, which should be kept in mind when interpreting the results.

Psychometric properties of home accessibility assessment tools: A systematic review

“…This variability may be due in part to the different contexts across the studies after the tool was introduced into occupational therapists' practice. The article with the best scientific quality (Helle et al, 2010) is associated with lower interrater reliability in the trans-Nordic context, but the good percentage agreement for each of the sections supports moderate interrater reliability for the tool. Because of the article's many methodological limitations and the statistical test used (percentage agreement), it is not possible to establish acceptable interrater reliability of the Housing Enabler Screening Tool, especially when administered by employees without any health training.…”

The Swedish Aging With Spinal Cord Injury Study (SASCIS): Methodology and Initial Results

“…The HE has demonstrated construct validity [48] and overall moderate‐to‐good interrater reliability [49]. The instrument also has been tested for interrater reliability in occupational therapy practice in a cross‐Nordic setting, with a mean percentage agreement of paired raters exceeding 80% for both components [50]. The HE rests on extensive research and has been used in large studies involving aging populations in different countries [51].…”

Housing accessibility and its associations with participation among older adults living with long-standing spinal cord injury

“…7,26 The HE has demonstrated sufficient interrater reliability and construct validity and is being used in cross-national aging research on home, health and disability. [27][28][29] Data on other characteristics of the housing situation were: overall housing standard (e.g. amenities according to national specifications, number of rooms), housing adaptations (i.e.…”