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Self-assessment Parkinson’s Disease Disability Scale

Last Updated

Purpose

The SPDDS is an instrument for the measurement of disabilities in Parkinson’s Disease.

Acronym SPDDS

Assessment Type

Patient Reported Outcomes

Administration Mode

Paper & Pencil

Cost

Free

Diagnosis/Conditions

  • Parkinson's Disease & Neurologic Rehabilitation

Populations

Parkinson's Disease

Key Descriptions

  • The SPDDS is a disease-specific questionnaire consisting of 24 items addressing activities of daily living. The original SPDDS consisted of 25 items, however an item has been added and two items have been dropped due to high nonresponse. See Table 1 below for list of specific items on questionnaire.

    The patient indicates to what extent they are able to perform the activities without help.

    Answers are rated on a five-point scale ranging from ‘able to do alone without difficulty’ to ‘unable to do at all’.

    (Biemans et al. 2001)(Biemans et al. 2001)
  • The original SPDDS consisted of 25 items, however an item has been added and two items have been dropped due to high nonresponse.
  • See Table 1 below for list of specific items on questionnaire.
  • The patient indicates to what extent they are able to perform the activities without help.
  • Answers are rated on a five-point scale ranging from ‘able to do alone without difficulty’ to ‘unable to do at all’ (Biemans et al., 2001).

Number of Items

24

Time to Administer

5 minutes

Required Training

No Training

Age Ranges

Adult

18 - 64

years

Elderly Adult

65 +

years

Instrument Reviewers

Suzanne O’Neal, PT, DPT, NCS & the PD EDGE Task Force of the Neurology Section of the APTA

ICF Domain

Activity
Participation

Measurement Domain

Activities of Daily Living

Considerations

Can also be given to patient’s caregivers to assess the patient’s disability however according to one study, the patient’s assessment was a more accurate picture of their actual disability, particularly in milder stages (Brown et al., 1989).

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Parkinson's Disease

back to Populations

Normative Data

Parkinson’s Disease: 

(Biemans et al, 2001; n = 142; mean age = 66(10.4) years; Hoehn & Yahr Stage range = I to V (I = 29, II = 41, III = 39, IV = 24, V = 9) 

 

Table 1 Mean, standard deviation and scalability of items of the SPDDS questionnaire 

Item

Mean

SD

H (g)

Washing face and hands

1.46 

0.83 

0.66 

Brushing teeth

1.51 

0.86 

0.63 

Using a telephone

1.54 

0.90 

0.62 

Making tea or coffee

1.68 

1.17 

0.71 

Inserting and removing an electric plug

1.70 

1.09 

0.63 

Pouring milk from a bottle or carton

1.75 

1.10 

0.65 

Walking about house/flat

1.82 

1.19 

0.66 

Getting up out of armchair

1.87 

0.89 

0.63 

Picking up object from floor

1.87 

1.03 

0.67 

Having a shower

1.87 

1.22 

0.71 

Getting undressed

1.94 

1.07 

0.70 

Holding and reading newspaper

1.98 

1.09 

0.52 

Holding cup and saucer

1.99 

1.13 

0.58 

Getting out of bed

2.03 

0.92 

0.71 

Getting dressed

2.06 

1.05 

0.70 

Walking down the stairs

2.07 

1.31 

0.64 

Doing the dishes

2.10 

1.30 

0.65 

Walking up the stairs

2.10 

1.28 

0.64 

Walking outside, for example to local shops

2.31 

1.52 

0.68 

Cutting food with knife and fork

2.32 

1.16 

0.57 

Opening tins (not using an electric opener)

2.42 

1.03 

0.60 

Turning over in bed

2.51 

1.17 

0.57 

Travelling by public transport

2.83 

1.64 

0.69 

Writing a letter

2.90 

1.47 

0.60 

(Items in table arranged by level of disability, from least to most)

Internal Consistency

Parkinson’s Disease:

(Biemans et al, 2001) 

  • Excellent internal consistency: 
  • Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = 0.97. 
  • Loevinger’s H = 0.64 
  • Reliability rho = 0.97

Criterion Validity (Predictive/Concurrent)

Parkinson’s Disease : 

(Biemans et al, 2001) 

  • Excellent correlation between the SPDDS and the Sickness Impact Scale (SIP68): r = 0.83. 

 

Table 2 The relationship between self-report and observation for selected items of the SPDDS 
 

SPDDS Questionnaire

Observation

N

ICC (3,1)

Getting out of bed

Getting in/out of bed 

28 

0.81 

Getting up from an armchair

Getting up from and sitting down in armchair 

29 

0.61 

Walking up the stairs

Walking up and down the stairs 

23 

0.66 

Walking down the stairs

Walking up and down the stairs 

23 

0.50 

Getting dressed

Putting on and taking off coat 

29 

0.77 

Getting undressed

Putting on and taking off coat 

29 

0.73 

Making cup of tea or coffee

Making cup of tea or coffee 

18 

0.82 

Holding cup and saucer

Holding a cup and saucer 

26 

0.79 

Using a telephone

Using a telephone 

29 

0.52 

Writing a letter

Writing a letter 

29 

0.57 

Turning over in bed

Turning over in bed 

26 

0.56 

 

(The ICC varied from 0.52 to 0.82, showing a moderate to high positive association) 

  • Strong relationship between the SPDDS questionnaire and H&Y Stages: (F = 104.85, df =141, p<0.0001) 

H&Y Stage

SPDDS Score (Mean)

SD

I

30.3 

5.8 

II

36.9 

7.4 

III

49.3 

10.3 

IV

72.3 

15.6 

V

95.2 

19.6 

 

Parkinson’s Disease : 

(Brown et al, 1989; Group 1 n = 37; mean age (years) = 65.1(9.6); mean disease duration = 10.9(5.4); duration range (years) = 3 to 26; Hoehn & Yahr Stage II n = 12, Stage III = 20, Stage IV = 3, Stage V = 2; Group 2 n=29; mean age (years) = 50.4(9.3); mean duration (years) = 10.5(4.3); duration range (years) = 3 to 19) 

  • Significant correlation between level of self-rated disability and level of depression (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory): r = 0.34 
  • Significant correlation between level of self-rated disability and Mini-Mental State Examination: r = -0.48

Bibliography

Biemans, M. A., Dekker, J., et al. (2001). "The internal consistency and validity of the Self-Assessment Parkinson's Disease Disability Scale." Clin Rehabil 15(2): 221-228. Find it on PubMed

Brown, R. G., MacCarthy, B., et al. (1989). "Accuracy of self-reported disability in patients with parkinsonism." Arch Neurol 46(9): 955-959. Find it on PubMed

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