Assessing physiotherapists’ communication skills for promoting patient autonomy for self-management: reliability and validity of the communication evaluation in rehabilitation tool

Purpose: To assess the inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of the Communication Evaluation in Rehabilitation Tool, which aims to externally assess physiotherapists’ competency in using Self-Determination Theory-based communication strategies in practice. Materials and Methods: Audio recordings of initial consultations between 24 physiotherapists and 24 patients with chronic low back pain in four hospitals in Ireland were obtained as part of a larger randomised controlled trial. Three raters, all of whom had PhDs in psychology and expertise in motivation and physical activity, independently listened to the 24 audio recordings and completed the 18-item Communication Evaluation in Rehabilitation Tool. Inter-rater reliability between all three raters was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. Concurrent validity was assessed using Pearson’s r correlations with a reference standard, the Health Care Climate Questionnaire. Results: The total score for the Communication Evaluation in Rehabilitation Tool is an average of all 18 items. Total scores demonstrated good inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.8) and concurrent validity with the Health Care Climate Questionnaire total score (range: r=0.7-0.88). Item-level scores of the Communication Evaluation in Rehabilitation Tool identified five items that need improvement. Conclusion: Results provide preliminary evidence to support future use and testing of the Communication Evaluation in Rehabilitation Tool.