The WhOM is a semi-structured interview/assessment focused on participation outcomes as identified by the participants. In Part I, participants identify their participation outcome goals (i.e. specific things that they want to do and achieve) at home and in the community, and they then rate the importance (Imp) of the goals and satisfaction (Sat) with their performance in reaching their goals. Part II consists of structured questions about their comfort, satisfaction with positioning, and skin breakdown.
This information is intended to be re-tested to:
1) Monitor a participant’s performance (post-intervention or over time);
2) To assist them in participating fully in their lives; and
3) Helping people to choose appropriate seating equipment.

Clinical Considerations

n/a

ICF Domain

Participation ▶ Mobility
Participation ▶ Community
Participation ▶ Major Life Areas
Participation ▶ General Tasks
Participation ▶ Demands

Administration

  • Approx. 30 minutes, number of items varies based on outcomes identified by the participant.

Number of Items

As determined by the participant.

Equipment

None

Scoring

  • In part I, Importance (Imp) and Satisfaction (Sat) are rated (0-10) for each identified activity. Sat x Imp score (0-100) for each activity is the product of the two values. Mean Sat and mean Sat x Imp scores are the means of the respective activity scores.In part II, change (post-pre) scores can be calculated.

Languages

Available in English, French, Farsi, and Italian

Training Required

None, however good clinical interviewing skills are essential.

Availability

Can be found here.

Measurement Property Summary

# of studies reporting psychometric properties: 6

Interpretability

MCID: not established in SCI

SEM: Mean Satisfaction: 0.43-0.58
Mean Satisfaction x Importance: 5.42-5.87 (Miller et al. 2011; N=50, 42 male, mixed injury types, mean (SD) time post-SCI = 16.1 (10.1) years)

MDC: Mean Satisfaction: 1.19-1.61
Mean Satisfaction x Importance: 15.02-16.27 (Miller et al. 2011; N=50, 42 male, mixed injury types, mean (SD) time post-SCI = 16.1 (10.1) years)

Reliability

Test-retest reliability is High for the WhOM – Sat (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient=0.90), the WhOM – Sat x Imp (ICC=0.93), and the WhOM – Body Function (ICC=0.83).

(Alimohammad et al., 2016; N=75; no info on injury type; Farsi speakers, wheelchair as primary mobility device; mean (SD) time post-SCI = 60 (61) months)

Inter-rater reliability is High for the WhOM (ICC=0.99).

(Alimohammad et al., 2016; N=75; no info on injury type; Farsi speakers, wheelchair as primary mobility device; mean (SD) time post-SCI = 60 (61) months)

Number of studies reporting reliability data: 3

Validity

Correlation between the WhOM – Sat and the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM-III) are Moderate (WhOM mean Sat: 0.338).
Correlation between the WhOM Sat x Imp and the SCIM-III) are Moderate (WhOM mean Sat x Imp: 0.507).

Correlation between the WhOM – Sat and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) are Low (WhOM mean Sat: -0.220).
Correlation between the WhOM – Sat x Imp and the BDI-II are Low (WhOM mean Sat x Imp: -0.262).

(Alimohammad et al., 2016; N=75 with SCI; no info on injury type; Farsi speakers, wheelchair as primary mobility device; mean (SD) time post-SCI = 60 (61) months)

Correlations between the WhOM – Sat and the Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H) are Low to High (WhOM mean Sat: 0.18-0.62).
Correlations between the WhOM Sat x Imp and the Assessment of Life Habits are Low to High (WhOM mean Sat x Imp: 0.16-0.55).

(Miller et al., 2011; N=50, 42 male, mixed injury types, mean (SD) time post-SCI = 16.1 (10.1) years)

Number of studies reporting validity data: 4

Responsiveness

No values were reported for the responsiveness of the WhOM for the SCI population.

Floor/ceiling effect:

Ceiling effect reported for mean WhOM – Sat in home activities (22%). No ceiling or floor effect detected in all other scores.

(Alimohammad et al., 2016; N=75; no info on injury type; Farsi speakers, wheelchair as primary mobility device; mean (SD) time post-SCI = 60 (61) months)

Reviewers

Dr. Ben Mortenson, Matthew Querée

Date Last Updated

28 November 2016

Auger C, Demers L, Gélinas I, Routhier F, Mortenson WB, Miller WC. Reliability and Validity of the Telephone Administration of the Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM) for Middle-Aged and Older Users of Power Mobility Devices. J Rehabil Med. 2010 Jun;42(6):574-81.

Miller WC, Garden J, Mortenson WB. Measurement properties of the wheelchair outcome measure in individuals with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord 2011 Sep; 49(9): 995-1000. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21577219

Mortenson WB, Miller WC, Miller-Polgar J. Measuring wheelchair intervention outcomes: development of the wheelchair outcome measure. Disabil Rehabil 2007; 2: 275–285. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17483100701475863?journalCode=iidt20

Garden, J. A. (2009). Reliability and validity of the Wheelchair Outcome Measure (T). University of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/24/items/1.0067673 (Original work published 2009)

Parvaneh S, Mortenson WB, Miller WC. doi: 10.3109/17483107.2013.769126. Validating the wheelchair outcome measure for residents in long-term care. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2014 May;9(3):209-12.

Alimohammad S, Parvaneh S, Ghahari S, Saberi H, Yekaninejad MS, Miller WC. Translation and validation of the Farsi version of the Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM-Farsi) in individuals with spinal cord injury. Disabil Health J. 2016 Apr;9(2):265-71.

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