Measurement Properties of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory-Children and Adolescents for Children and Adolescents Postconcussion

Does the Dizziness Handicap Inventory-Children and Adolescents (DHI-CA) Demonstrate Properties to Support Clinical Application in the Post-Concussion Population: A Rasch Analysis

The purpose of this cross-sectional validation study was to evaluate the clinical utility of the DHI-CA by (1) examining its dimensionality using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and (2) calibrating DHI-CA items (using the multidimensional Rasch model) to obtain item difficulty levels. A retrospective chart review was conducted for 132 patients between the ages of 8 and 18 years (mean age = 15.3 ± 2.1 years) from a multidisciplinary post-concussion management tertiary center. Data were extracted on age, sex, and DHI-CA. EFA revealed that 12 out of 25 items did not fit in the subscale that they were originally described under, indicating poor dimensionality. Calibration of items on the Wright Maps revealed that 50% of the items pooled in the lower difficulty level, indicating a potential ceiling effect. Corrected item-rest correlations for the physical, emotional, walking/mobility, and community participation ranged from 0.44-0.66, 0.27-0.61, 0.54-0.57, and 0.32-0.69 (p < 0.001), respectively. The clinical utility of the DHI-CA was found to be questionable due to the presence of double-barreled items and the ceiling effect. Clinicians must supplement data from the DHI-CA with other measures and patient interviews to make informed clinical decisions specific to the post-concussion population until new, robust, and valid measures are developed.

Concurrent validity of the Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) tool with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) among adolescents with vestibular symptoms/impairment following concussion

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether the Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) tool demonstrates concurrent validity with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) in a sample of concussed athletes referred for vestibular therapy and whether DHI items were predictive of VOMS outcomes.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional cohort study.

SETTING

Concussion specialty/vestibular therapy clinic.

METHODS

Adolescents (n = 55; 15.4 ± 1.6 years) with diagnosed sport-related concussion (SRC) with vestibular symptoms and/or impairment between October 2018-February 2020. Patients completed VOMS and DHI at initial visit. Seven individual VOMS and twenty-five DHI items, VOMS and DHI total score and three DHI sub-scales, were compared with Spearman correlations. Three backwards linear regression (LR) models were built to predict 1. VOMS vestibular symptoms, 2. VOMS ocular symptoms, and 3. near-point of convergence-distance (NPC-distance) using individual DHI items as predictors.

RESULTS

Spearman correlations (p) identified DHI items with moderate to strong associations for VOMS items. DHI sub-scales demonstrated moderate-to-strong correlations with VOMS items (p = 0.30-0.59). Total DHI score demonstrated a moderate-to-strong association with HSAC (p = 0.30), VSAC (p = 0.32), and SP (p = 0.61). Results from the LRs predicting VOMS ocular symptoms (R (Alsalaheen et al., 2010) = 0.56; p < 0.001), and VOMS vestibular symptoms (R (Alsalaheen et al., 2010) = 0.23; p = 0.01), and NPC-distance (R (Alsalaheen et al., 2010) = 0.56; p < 0.001) included significant DHI predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

There was moderate-to-strong associations between VOMS and 56% of DHI items (i.e., p > 0.30).