Validity and clinimetric properties of the spinal alignment and range of motion measure in children with cerebral palsy

Chia Ling Chen*, Katie P.H. Wu, Wen Yu Liu, Hsin Yi Kathy Cheng, I. Hsuan Shen, Keh Chung Lin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the validity, responsiveness, and clinimetric properties of the Spinal Alignment and Range of Motion Measure (SAROMM) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: Sixty-two children with CP (40 males, 22 females) with a median age of 3 years and 11 months (range 1-6y) and their caregivers participated in this study. Among the children, 56 had spastic CP while six had non-spastic CP; 53 had bilateral CP, while nine had unilateral limb involvement. Thirty-three children were classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I to III and 23 as levels IV or V. Fifty-six children (90%) received regular rehabilitation by means of regular physical or occupational therapy (50% once or twice per week and 40% more than two times per week) and six children (10%) received irregular rehabilitation (less than once a week). Construct validity was determined by assessing the strength of the correlation between the spinal alignment SAROMM (SAROMM-SA), the range of motion SAROMM (SAROMM-ROM), and the total SAROMM (SAROMM-total), and construct measures, including the 66-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) and Functional Independence Measures for Children (WeeFIM), at baseline and at 6-months follow-up. Responsiveness was examined using effect size. Minimal detectable change (MDC) at the 90% confidence level (MDC90) and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) were analysed. Results: The SAROMM with the GMFM-66 and WeeFIM had fair to good construct validity. The effect size values of all SAROMM scales were 0.24 to 0.48. The MDC90 values and MCID range were 1.43 and 0.47 to 1.67 for the SAROMM-SA, 3.12 and 3.68 to 4.07 for the SAROMM-ROM, and 3.22 and 4.53 to 4.62 for the SAROMM-total. Interpretation: The clinimetric properties of the SAROMM allow clinicians to determine whether a change in SAROMM score represents a clinically meaningful change.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)745-750
Number of pages6
JournalDevelopmental Medicine and Child Neurology
Volume55
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 08 2013

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Validity and clinimetric properties of the spinal alignment and range of motion measure in children with cerebral palsy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this