Stroke Impact Scale, a Clinical and Research Tool to Evaluate Outcomes after Stroke and to Evaluate Recovery Progression after Intervention

Abstract

Stroke continues to be the second leading cause of death, and the third with regards to disability. The assessment of outcomes in individuals after stroke is important for both clinical practice and research. Unfortunately, there were no best measures of stroke outcome in either clinical practice or research until the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) that was developed by our team in 1999. The SIS has 59 items in eight domains: strength, hand function, ADL/IADL, mobility, emotion, memory, communication, and social participation. The SIS was also validated for its Psychometric Properties including validity, reliability, and sensitivity/responsiveness. The SIS has been established not only for in-person interviews but is also validated for telephone and mail-mode of administrations. Our team also developed a Stroke Impact Scale 16 to evaluate stroke in physical functioning. These instruments have been used and translated worldwide on every continent.