Alberta infant motor scale in Brazilian research: a bibliometric study

• Published in: Fisioterapia e pesquisa 2023, Vol.30
• Main Authors: Sousa, Carla Thais de, Tabosa, Tayná Albuquerque, Ferracioli-Gama, Marcela de Castro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child Development; Developmental Disabilities; ORTHOPEDICS; REHABILITATION; Review; Scientific Research and Technological Development
• ISSN: 1809-2950; 2316-9117; 2316-9117
• DOI: 10.1590/1809-2950/e22021823en

ABSTRACT The Alberta infant motor scale (AIMS) is an instrument for assessing the gross motor development of newborns, aged 0-18 months. This study aimed to summarize the Brazilian studies that used the AIMS and identify their objectives to know the main uses of the scale for professionals interested in child motor development. This is a bibliometric study on SciELO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The searched keywords were “Alberta infant motor scale” and “Brazil,” with their equivalents in Portuguese and united by “AND.” Inclusion criteria were: use of AIMS with children aged 0-18 months carried out in Brazil. The variables database, journal, year of publication, language, region of the institution linked to the authors, and type of study were analyzed in a descriptive quantitative manner. Content analysis was performed on the objectives described in the articles. In total, 79 articles were included and most of them had a cross-sectional design and were linked to institutions in the South and Southeast regions. Furthermore, most studies were from the last 10 years and in English. The journal Fisioterapia e Pesquisa was the Brazilian journal that most published studies of the sample. The analyzed objectives were distributed into six word classes, with two large groups: psychometric validity (19.1%) and evaluative studies (80.9%). The latter considered the various child populations analyzed. We presented studies that used the AIMS to evaluate the motor development of Brazilian children, reinforcing the importance of this instrument in the national context and also encouraging its use. RESUMO A Alberta infant motor scale (AIMS) é um instrumento de avaliação do desenvolvimento motor grosso dos recém-nascidos entre 0 e 18 meses de idade. Este estudo buscou sumarizar as pesquisas brasileiras que utilizaram a AIMS e identificar seus objetivos, a fim de fornecer um quadro das principais utilizações da escala aos profissionais interessados no desenvolvimento motor infantil. Trata-se de um estudo bibliométrico realizado por meio de buscas nas bases de dados SciELO, PubMed, Scopus, e Web of Science. Os descritores foram “escala motora infantil de Alberta” e “Brasil”, com seus equivalentes em inglês, unidos pelo termo booleano “AND”. O critério de inclusão foi a utilização da AIMS no Brasil, com crianças de 0 a 18 meses. As variáveis base de dados, revista, ano de publicação, idioma, região da instituição vinculada aos autores e tipo de estudo foram a