Miyasaka H, Narita W, Nakagawa Y, Kanamori R, Ohshita M, Kawakami S, Shimomura K, Kondo I, Sonoda S. Development and validity of an evaluation of higher cortical dysfunction in the daily life of patients with stroke and traumatic brain injury. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2016; 7: 61-72.

Purpose: To develop a valid Cognition-oriented Performance Evaluation (COPE) questionnaire for the evaluation of higher brain function in any environment using the nominal group technique (NGT).

Method: The NGT participants included nine expert staff members of our hospital. The NGT process was performed twice and involved: 1) enumerating questions regarding the presence or absence of higher cortical dysfunction symptoms, 2) judging each item on a four-point scale and posing additional questions, 3) determining the level of agreement across participants using the NGT, and 4) modifying, removing, and adding questions based on the agreement and comments of the NGT participants. In addition, a correlation analysis between COPE areas and the social cognition items of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was performed in 20 patients with higher cortical dysfunction.

Results and discussion: An initial 126 questions were crafted prior to the NGT. During the first NGT, 12 items failed to achieve adequate agreement, and during the second NGT, three items failed. Furthermore, we coordinated the expressed opinions after the second NGT. The final version contained 96 items. Correlation analysis demonstrated significant correlation between the COPE and FIM in related items such as memory and problem-solving. Thus, the validity of the COPE was verified using a qualitative research technique (consensus method) and by correlation with another scale.