Item reduction and assessment of content validity of the Activity Independence Measure-Trauma

A standardized set of measures to assess functioning after trauma in humanitarian settings
has been called for. The Activity Independence Measure for Trauma (AIM-T) is a clinician rated measure of independence in 20 daily activities among patients after trauma. Designed in Afghanistan, it has since been used in other contexts. Before recommending the AIM-T for wider use, its measurement properties required confirmation.

This study aims at item reduction followed by content validity assessment of the AIM-T. Using a two-step revision process, the AIM-T was reduced from 20 to 12 items. Ten items were revised to improve their cultural relevance or appropriateness and one item was added.

In conclusion, the proposed 12-item AIM-T is overall relevant, clear, and representative of independence in daily activity after trauma and it includes items appropriate and feasible to be observed by clinicians across different humanitarian settings. While some additional measurement properties remain to be evaluated, the present version already has the potential to serve as a routine measure to assess patients after trauma in humanitarian settings.