A novel assessment of self-perceptions of recovery from illness and injury in U.S. Navy service members.

Abstract

Objective: There is no measure that assesses self-perceptions of recovery in service members. This report describes the development and validation of the Military Illness and Injury Recovery Scale-17 (MIIRS-17) in a sample of active duty personnel.

Methods and measures: Participants (N = 182) were U.S. Navy aircrew who responded to a survey including 19 candidate scale items and measures of theoretically relevant correlates (e.g., pain). Factor structure of the scale was explored with principal components analysis. Convergent validity was established with bivariate associations between selected correlates, total recovery, and subscales. A multiple linear regression model was used to explore the contributions of each predictor (e.g., fatigue) for total recovery. Models were age-adjusted, as applicable.

Results: The final 17-item scale was highly consistent with four subscales, which we termed immune recovery, musculoskeletal injury recovery, physical recovery, and rehabilitation response. Total recovery and relevant correlates were related in the expected directions. In the combined model, eight predictors and age explained 39.6% of variance in total recovery. Sleep disruption, resilience, and age, independently contributed to total recovery.

Conclusion: Our preliminary results indicate that the MIIRS-17 is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing self-perceptions of recovery in military members.