Validity and reliability of two abbreviated versions of the Gross Motor Function Measure.

Authors

Laura K Brunton
Doreen J Bartlett

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2011

Journal

Physical therapy

Volume

91

Issue

4

First Page

577

Last Page

588

URL with Digital Object Identifier

https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20100279

Abstract

Aim: The “gold standard” to measure gross motor functioning for children with cerebral palsy (CP) is the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66). The purpose of this study was to estimate the validity and reliability of two abbreviated versions (item set (GMFM-66 IS) and basal and ceiling (GMFM-66 B&C) approaches) of the GMFM-66.

Methods: Twenty-six children with CP aged 2 to 6 years across all GMFCS levels participated. At session one, both abbreviated versions were administered by two independent raters, followed by the full GMFM-66. In the subsequent session, only the abbreviated versions were administered, by the same raters. Concurrent validity, comparability between versions and test-retest reliability were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 2,1).

Results: Both versions demonstrated high levels of validity with ICCs reflecting associations with the GMFM-66 of 0.99 (95% CIs ranging from 0.972-0.997). Both versions were also shown to be highly reliable with ICCs greater than 0.98 (95% CIs ranging from 0.965-0.994).

Interpretation: Both versions can be used in clinical practice or research. However, the GMFM-66-B&C is recommended as the preferred abbreviated version.

Notes

This paper was published in Physical Therapy in 2011. The published version of this paper can be found at https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20100279

Citation of this paper:

Brunton, L. K., & Bartlett, D. J. (2011). Validity and reliability of two abbreviated versions of the Gross Motor Function Measure. Physical therapy, 91(4), 577-588.