Volume 46 Number 4, 2009
   Pages 469 — 480

Abstract – Development of CRIS: Measure of community reintegration of injured service members

Linda Resnik, PhD, PT, OCS;1-2* Matthew Plow, PhD;2 Alan Jette, PhD, PT3

1Providence Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI; 2Department of Community Health, Brown University, Providence, RI; 3Department of Health Policy and Management, and Health and Disability Research Institute, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA

Abstract — Abstract-Identification and prevention of community reintegration problems of veterans is an important public health mandate. However, no veteran-specific measure exists. Study purposes were to (1) develop the Community Reintegration for Service Members (CRIS) measure and (2) test the validity and reliability of the measure. Formative research identified challenges in community reintegration postdeployment. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health participation domain guided item-bank development. Items were refined through cognitive interviews and clinician consultation. Pilot studies with 126 veterans examined unidimensionality, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity. Three unidimensional CRIS scales were developed. Working subjects had better CRIS scores then unemployed subjects. Subjects with posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems had worse scores than subjects without these conditions. The correlations between the CRIS and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey scales of role physical, role emotional, and social functioning were 0.44-0.80. CRIS has strong reliability, conceptual integrity, and construct validity.

Key words: community reintegration; disability measurement; International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; OIF/OEF; participation; Rasch analysis; rehabilitation; reliability; validity; veterans.

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