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The Sarah evaluation scale for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: description and results
Katia S Pinto1, Camila G C Carvalho1, Lilian Nakamoto1
1Programa de Reabilitação Infantil, Rede Sarah de Hospitais de Reabilitação, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Insights
The Sarah scale effectively assesses motor function in children with cerebral palsy, showing strong validity and reliability. This new tool aids in rehabilitation planning and clinical practice.
Area of Science:
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Pediatric Neurology
- Clinical Assessment Tools
Background:
- Motor-functional assessments are vital for cerebral palsy (CP) rehabilitation.
- The Sarah Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals developed a new evaluation scale for CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce the Sarah motor-functional evaluation scale.
- Report initial findings on the scale's measurement properties in children and adolescents with CP.
Main Methods:
- The scale's properties were assessed in 76 children and adolescents with CP.
- Expert opinions were used for age-group scoring and severity differentiation.
Main Results:
- The Sarah scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.95) and excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.98-0.99).
- Strong correlations were found with expert severity classifications and established measures (GMFM, PEDI).
- The scale showed significant responsiveness to changes over time.
Conclusions:
- The Sarah scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing motor skills in pediatric CP.
- Preliminary results suggest its utility in routine clinical practice and rehabilitation settings.
Background:
Assessments of motor-functional aspects in cerebral palsy are crucial to rehabilitation programs.
Objective:
To introduce the Sarah motor-functional evaluation scale and to report the initial results of its measurement properties. This scale was created based on the experience of the Sarah Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals in the care of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.
Method:
Preliminary results concerning the measurement properties of the scale were obtained via assessment of 76 children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. Experts' opinions were used to determine an expected empirical score by age group and to differentiate severity levels.
Results:
The scale exhibited a high Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.95). Strong correlation was observed with experts' classification for severity levels (0.81 to 0.97) and with the scales Gross Motor Function Measure and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (0.80 to 0.98). Regression analysis detected a significant relationship between the scale score and the severity of the child's motor impairment. The inter-rater reliability was also strong (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.98 to 0.99). The internal responsiveness of the scale score was confirmed by significant differences between longitudinal evaluations (paired Student's t test with p<0.01; standardized response mean of 0.60).
Conclusion:
The Sarah scale provides a valid measure for assessing the motor skills and functional performance of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. The preliminary results showed that the Sarah scale has potential for use in routine clinical practice and rehabilitation units.
