Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41634346›Full record

ArticleSpinal cord2026

Evaluating and refining the wheelchair mobility activity log (WC-MAL): a comprehensive study of validity and reliability.

Tainara Rodrigues Dos Santos, Jocemar Ilha, Carolina Luiza Donzelini Rodrigues, Aline de Lima, Thais Raquel Filippo, Natalia Duarte Pereira

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Spinal cord, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Tainara Rodrigues Dos SantosResearch group on Functionality and technological innovation in neurorehabilitation (GFIT-Neuro), Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0002-6070-1269
Jocemar IlhaSpinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Research Group (SCIR-Group), Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0002-6300-4696
Carolina Luiza Donzelini RodriguesResearch group on Functionality and technological innovation in neurorehabilitation (GFIT-Neuro), Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
Aline de LimaSpinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Research Group (SCIR-Group), Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0002-8970-0323
Thais Raquel FilippoResearch group on Functionality and technological innovation in neurorehabilitation (GFIT-Neuro), Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
Natalia Duarte PereiraResearch group on Functionality and technological innovation in neurorehabilitation (GFIT-Neuro), Department of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil. nataliaduartepereira@ufscar.br.ORCID 0000-0002-4395-589X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designValidity and Reliability Analysis.

objectiveEvaluate the structural validity, reliability and criterion validity of the Wheelchair Mobility Activity Log (WC-MAL) using Rasch analysis.

methodsSixty individuals with SCI and using a manual wheelchair participated in the study. The WC-MAL was employed remotely. Rasch analysis evaluated the structural validity of the instrument. The intra-rater reliability of the WC-MAL score was analysed using the random model Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the Standard Error of Measurement was calculated to estimate the precision of individual scores. For concurrent criterion validity, the data from the tachometer were used as the "gold standard" to assess wheelchair mobility, with the WC-MAL serving as the comparator. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the relationship between the tachometer data and WC-MAL Frequency Scale scores.

resultsThe Rasch analysis led to the exclusion of three items (1, 3, and 10) from the original instrument, improving model fit and refining WC-MAL 2.0. WC-MAL 2.0 demonstrated good discriminant ability with a Person Separation Reliability of 0.91-0.93 and explained variance between 59.3 and 61%. The WC-MAL 2.0 showed no local dependency, maintained unidimensionality across all scales, and exhibited no uniform Differential Item Functioning. The WC-MAL 2.0 demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC0.84-0.91), strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.84-0.91), and strong correlations between the Frequency Scale and tachometer data (r = 0.78, p < 0.001), supporting its criterion validity.

conclusionThe WC-MAL 2.0 is a suitable instrument with adequate validity and reliability for assessing wheelchair performance in individuals with SCI.

Indexed as

Disability EvaluationSpinal Cord InjuriesWheelchairsAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedReproducibility of Results

Identifiers

PMID41634346
PMCPMC12975505

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.