Development and reliability testing of the Nordic Housing Enabler – an instrument for accessibility assessment of the physical housing

Abstract. For decades, accessibility to the physical housing environment for people with functional limitations has been of interest politically, professionally and for the users. Guidelines and norms on accessible housing design have gradually been developed, however, the built environment shows serious deficits when it comes to accessibility. This study addresses development of a content valid cross-Nordic version of the Housing Enabler and investigation of inter-rater reliability, when used in occupational therapy practice. The instrument was translated from the original Swedish version and adapted according to accessibility norms and guidelines for housing design in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. This iterative process involved occupational therapists, architects, building engineers and professional translators, resulting in the Nordic Housing Enabler. For reliability testing, the sample strategy and data collection procedures were the same in all countries. In total, twenty voluntary occupational therapists collected data from 106 cases by means of the Nordic Housing Enabler. Inter-rater reliability was calculated by means of percentage agreement and kappa statistics. Overall good percentage agreement for all parts of the instrument was shown, indicating that the Nordic Housing Enabler is sufficiently reliable for application in practice and research in the Nordic context. The kappa results varied and possible explanations are discussed, which should be kept in mind when interpreting the results. Keywords. Assessment, accessibility norms for housing design, translation.