moderate impairment), while dependent variables included the levels of measured performance on the test. Operationalization involved demonstrating the ability to perform the tasks of daily life. Simple cooking was tested by asking the test subject to cook oatmeal; using a telephone was tested by requiring the subject to inquire about grocery delivery on the phone; and the test subject was required to select and administer medications correctly and select and pay bills from a pile of mail. Q5. Define reliability. Discuss the means by which the reliability of the instrument/measure was assessed in this study.

Reliability is defined as reproducibility, or the ability of a test to yield reliable or similar results with similar target population groups and under the same circumstances. "We determined interrater reliability with three trained raters who simultaneously rated 10 participants, 5 with mild stroke and 5 healthy controls. The total score and each of four subtest scores were analyzed, and ICCs were computed," and this indicated a high level of reliability between different raters of subjects' responses to the four tasks (Baum et al. 2008: 451). Subjectivity in terms of rating subject's competence thus did not vary widely between assessors.

Q6. Define validity. How was the validity of the instruments assessed in this study?

Validity is defined as the test's ability to test what it purports to assess. Validity was confirmed when "significant moderate correlations were found between the EFPT total score" and other neuropsychological measurements that assessed cognitive functioning on a more technical, biological and psychological level than the EFPT...

2008: 451).
Q7. Summarize Table 1

Table one is a comparison of the performance of the control group, the moderately impaired group, and the mildly impaired group on the EFPT. It shows that the moderately impaired individuals had significantly more difficulty performing basic life tasks than the mildly impaired stroke victims, while the control group had the least trouble overall.

Q8. Discuss the limitations and strengths of the study

One of the limits of the study is the relatively limited functionality it assesses: on an occupational level, it does not assess overall mobility, such as an individual's ability to respond to an unexpected crisis in the home, such as a small fire. Also, it focuses solely on occupational skills, rather than other tests of functioning on a broader level. The test could be valuable, particularly since it assesses a specific, useful range of behaviors and the degree of assistance the behaviors require on the part of the individual. This could make it useful assessing degrees of need in an assisted living context. But other than adding three additional occupational levels of functionality, it does not necessarily mark a substantive innovation in testing philosophy, as compared with the Kitchen Task Assignment.

Reference

Baum et al. (2008). Reliability, validity, and clinical utility of the Executive Function

Performance Test: A measure of executive function in a sample of people with stroke

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62 (4): 446.