Development of the measure of control using electronic aids to daily living

Abstract

Electronic aids to daily living (EADL) are also known as environmental control systems (ECSs) or environmental control units (ECUs). Descriptive studies have been conducted regarding the benefit of EADL devices. These studies mostly focus on usage, qualify of life and satisfaction. There is a need for the study of functional benefits from EADL usage. This paper reports the development of Measure of Control using Electronic Aids to Daily Living (MCEADL), a tool that measures the functional changes specifically related to the use of EADL. We tested the psychometric qualities of MCEADL with 36 individuals (15 users and 21 non-users of EADL) with spinal cord injuries at or above C5/6 level. MCEADL was administered to the two groups twice, at a time interval of 4–8 weeks. The results of the study indicated that MCEADL has good internal consistency and good to very good test-retest reliability. In this paper, we discuss the possible applications of MCEADL as a clinical outcome measure or a program evaluation tool. Development of an outcome measure tool is an on-going process. Future research is necessary to examine the clinical utility of the measure with different diagnostic groups.