Abstract
The Severity of Disabilities Scale (SDS) of the ICIDH reflects the degree to which an individual's ability to perform a certain activity is restricted. This paper describes the application of two models from item response theory (IRT), the graded response model and the partial credit model, in order to derive a tentative proposal for a revised SDS. The key ingredient of the approach is to scale existing disability items obtained in different studies on a common scale by exploiting the overlap. Both IRT models are fitted to a linked data set containing items for measuring walking disability. Based on these solutions, a tentative SDS is constructed. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications, limitations and advantages of the approach.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1061-1076 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Statistics in medicine |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2001 |