Reliability of GMFCS family report questionnaire

• Published in: Disability and rehabilitation 2012-01, Vol.34 (9), p.721-724
• Main Authors: Rackauskaite, Gija, Thorsen, Poul, Uldall, Peter V., Østergaard, John R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cerebral palsy; Cerebral Palsy - classification; Cerebral Palsy - physiopathology; Child; Children; Computer based; Cross-Sectional Studies; Danish GMFCS; Denmark; Disability Evaluation; Family - psychology; family report questionnaire; Female; GMFCS; GMFCS-E&R; Humans; Internet; Interviews as Topic; Male; Motor Skills Disorders - classification; Motor Skills Disorders - physiopathology; Observer Variation; Physical Therapists; Physiotherapists; Registers; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires; Translating
• ISSN: 0963-8288; 1464-5165
• DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2011.615881

Purpose: To examine the reliability of the web-based GMFCS Family Report Questionnaire (GMFCS-FR) between 8 and 11 years old children, compared with the GMFCS-Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E&R). Method: The GMFCS-FR was translated from the English GMFCS-FR into Danish after the CanChild guidelines; only the order of levels was chosen like in the GMFCS-E&R. Families of 30 children with spastic and dystonic cerebral palsy (age from 8 to 11 years, randomly selected from a cerebral palsy register) answered the GMFCS-FR and were later interviewed by two physiotherapists. Participants and non-responders were compared on basic parameters available from the Danish CP register. Inter-rater agreement and weighted κ was calculated in order to compare the translated GMFCS-FR with physiotherapist's applied GMFCS-E&R. Results: The inter-rater agreement between the GMFCS-FR in Danish and the GMFCS-E&R was high (76%) and misclassification was minimal. There was a good agreement on the same or nearby levels (weighted κ = 0.76 and 0.81). The family rated the same or less ability, when compared with trained physiotherapists. Conclusion: The GMFCS-FR is a reliable tool for GMFCS evaluation among 8-11 years old Danish children with CP. The tendency for less-ability rating by families is important when performing and comparing results from epidemiological studies based on GMFCS-FR and GMFCS-E&R. Implications for Rehabilitation GMFCS Family Report Questionnaire for 6 to 12 years old children is a reliable tool for GMFCS evaluation of children with cerebral palsy. The tendency for less-ability rating by families, compared to rating by physiotherapist, is important for applying GMFCS in epidemiological studies on cerebral palsy.