Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (SCIM III)

A functional independence measure designed specifically for spinal cord injury.

Clinician- or trained-rater-administered; approximately 20 minutes.
19 items across 3 domains: self-care (0 to 20), respiration and sphincter management (0 to 40), and mobility (0 to 40).
Total 0 to 100; higher scores indicate greater independence.

What it measures

The SCIM III covers three functional domains. Self-care (0 to 20) includes feeding, grooming, bathing, and dressing. Respiration and sphincter management (0 to 40) covers breathing and bladder and bowel management. Mobility (0 to 40) includes bed mobility and indoor and outdoor locomotion. Items are weighted to reflect the functional importance of each task.

What the result tells you

Higher total scores (0 to 100) indicate greater functional independence. Domain scores identify which areas are most impaired. The SCIM is more sensitive to change in SCI populations than the Barthel Index, and is the functional scale of choice in SCI rehabilitation trials.

Used for

Spinal cord injury

Evidence, psychometrics and provenance

Psychometrics

Test-retest reliabilityICC ≈ 0.97

Inter-rater reliabilityICC ≈ 0.93

Reliability on a 0 to 1 scale. Higher indicates greater agreement.

References

1.Itzkovich M, Gelernter I, Biering-Sorensen F, et al. The Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) version III: reliability and validity in a multi-center international study. Disabil Rehabil. 2007;29(24):1926-1933.

This assessment uses a validated instrument and is reference information, not a diagnosis.