Composite scale, in questionnaire form, initially written in English and widely used since the 1980s because of its simplicity. It evaluates the level of disability and the functional impact of a given pathology.
The FIM is constituted of 18 items which measure the patient's performance in activities of daily living, including cognitive and social domains.
It appears necessary that medical and paramedical staff undergo one hour of training on the use of the scale.
The scale takes about 30 minutes to administer.
For each item (from 1 to 18), the therapist chooses the patient's level of disability from 1 (total assistance) to 7 (total independence, see the full scale on the page provided).
The total score is calculated by summing the scores for the level of disability for each item.
Interpretation: The lower the score, the greater the disability.
> Access to the scale is not free
Author: UDSMR (non-profitable organisation, affiliated to the University of Buffalo, New York State, USA). Dr. Carl V. Granger is the Executive Director of the UDSMR and of the research centre for functional assessment (creator of the FIM).
