Development of the Home Environmental Scale of Accessibility Instrument for Spain

Abstract

Background: Universal accessibility is one of the most active lines of intervention for people with disabilities and older adults. This accessibility has become a topic of growing interest regarding home access and use. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to create and validate a home assessment tool: the HESA II. Methods: The study was conducted in four phases: (1) agreement on variables by an expert panel; (2) development of 90 items according to the AOTA framework; (3) pilot test with n = 20; and (4) final study with 156 subjects where confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Results: The tool consisted of 85 items divided into five subscales related to each of the main spaces of Spanish homes: living room; kitchen; bedroom; and bathroom. Conclusions: The tool demonstrates good psychometric properties of reliability. The HESA II assesses home accessibility based on limitations in activity and participation restriction of the evaluated person as per the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health rather than on a diagnosis, making it applicable to a wide range of groups.