The Southampton Needs Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ): a valid tool for assessing the rehabilitation needs of disabled people

Abstract

Objective: To validate the Southampton Needs Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ) for use with disabled people during face-to-face interviews. Design: The SNAQ was designed to be used in a cross-sectional survey of disabled people with a physical disability with a follow-up study one year later. Content and criterion validity was examined using 32 disabled people who took part in the pilot study. Construct validity and internal reliability was examined using data from 93 disabled people who took part in the main survey. Responsiveness of the questionnaire was evaluated using the data gathered during a follow-up study of 77 people had taken part in the original study. Outcome measures: The OPCS Disability Severity Scales (OPCS) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were used to measure level of disability of participants, the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the UK version of the SF-36 to examine perceived health status. Participants: People with a primary physical disability, aged 16–65, randomly selected from two disability registers in southern England. Main results: Content and criterion validity were established. Construct validity and internal reliability of the SNAQ was good. Inter-rater reliability was not tested since only one researcher conducted the interviews. Test–retest reliability was not formally tested because of the probability that participants would learn from the first needs assessment questionnaire and that different results on a retest occasion could arise from this. The SNAQ was sensitive in picking up changes over time. Conclusion: The SNAQ has shown good validity (content, coverage and construct), internal reliability, sensitivity and responsiveness. Further studies are needed to define the consequences of meeting or not meeting the rehabilitation needs of disabled people. Inter-rater reliability remains to be established.