Test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the Danish version of the management of everday technology assessment for use with older adults with and without COPD

Background: The trend towards telemedicine increasingly requires clients to manage everyday technology (ET) to access and use health services. The Management of Everday Technology Assessment (META) is an observation-based instrument developed to evaluate the ability to manage ET.
Aim: To examine test-retest (TRR) and inter-rater reliability (IRR) of the Danish translation of the META for older adults with and without COPD.
Method and Materials: 47 older adults with COPD (n = 23) and without (n = 24) were recruited. IRR was examined by four raters paired across 30 participants. TRR was examined for 21 participants by the same rater administering the META twice within four weeks. A rank-based method for paired ordinal data was used to calculate percentage agreement (PA) and measures of systematic disagreement and individual variability. Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare PA to health status (presence/absence of COPD).
Results: Inter-rater PA was acceptable across 10 of 11 items and test-retest PA across 8 of 11 items. Systematic disagreement was present for one item in TRR. No significant differences in PA were found regarding health status.
Conclusion: The Danish META generates reliable scores for this sample. However, conclusive statements cannot be made for all items.