THE WHODAS 2.0 QUESTIONNAIRE AND ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN NEUROREHABILITATION: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Background: The WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire is a functional disability assessment tool that has been used worldwide, not only in rehabilitation, for more than 25 years. It is unique in that it assesses disability from the perspective of the persons with disabilities themselves. The most widely used version of the questionnaire contains 36 questions assessing areas that have a major impact on patients' quality of life. A total of 6 key domains are assessed: understanding and communication, mobility, self-care, relationships with people, life activities (school, work, home), and participation in society.

Methods: The WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire was administered to a total of 25 ictal patients who attended a 4-week neurorehabilitation day hospital at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague. Data processing was performed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel 2007. A special evaluation form developed by WHO was used for the evaluation. This is a pilot study.

Results: A total of 21 stroke patients participated in the pilot study. Twelve respondents showed improvement in their total score after attending a 4-week day hospital. Evaluation of individual domains showed improvement or at least no worsening in 93 domains out of 126 evaluated.

Conclusions: The WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire is a useful indicator of a patient's relationship to their life with disability. The questionnaire can also serve as an indicator of satisfaction with the ability to manage 6 key domains after 4 weeks of intensive neurorehabilitation.