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Psychometric Properties of a Standardized Observation Protocol to Quantify Pediatric Physical Therapy Actions
Patrizia Sonderer1, Schirin Akhbari Ziegler, Barbara Gressbach Oertle
1Institute of Physiotherapy (Mss Sonderer, Ziegler, and Oertle and Mr Meichtry), School of Health Professions, Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW, Winterthur, Switzerland; and Department of Pediatrics-Division Developmental Neurology (Dr Hadders-Algra), University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Insights
The Groningen Observation Protocol (GOP) demonstrates strong reliability and completeness for quantifying pediatric physical therapy (PPT) sessions. This tool is effective for assessing children with developmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Physical Therapy
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Pediatric physical therapy (PPT) exhibits significant heterogeneity, complicating the evaluation of its effective components.
- The Groningen Observation Protocol (GOP) was developed to standardize the quantification of PPT session content.
- Assessing the reliability and completeness of the GOP is crucial for its effective implementation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the interrater and intrarater reliability of the Groningen Observation Protocol (GOP) 2.0.
- To determine the completeness of the GOP 2.0 in quantifying pediatric physical therapy actions.
- To establish the GOP 2.0 as a reliable tool for assessing pediatric physical therapy.
Main Methods:
- Video-taping of sixty infant pediatric physical therapy sessions.
- Assessment of interrater and intrarater reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) on two random samples of 10 videos.
- Evaluation of GOP 2.0 completeness using data from all 60 videos.
Main Results:
- Excellent interrater reliability (ICC, 0.75-1.0) was observed for 71% of PPT actions, with sufficient to good reliability (ICC, 0.4-0.74) for an additional 24%.
- Excellent intrarater reliability was found for 94% of PPT actions, and sufficient to good reliability for 6%.
- The completeness of GOP 2.0 was found to be good, covering over 90% of observed PPT actions.
Conclusions:
- The Groningen Observation Protocol (GOP) 2.0 exhibits good reliability and completeness.
- With appropriate training, the GOP 2.0 is a valuable instrument for quantifying pediatric physical therapy.
- The GOP 2.0 facilitates objective assessment of PPT for children with developmental disorders.
Purpose:
Pediatric physical therapy (PPT) is characterized by heterogeneity. This blurs the evaluation of effective components of PPT. The Groningen Observation Protocol (GOP) was developed to quantify contents of PPT. This study assesses the reliability and completeness of the GOP.
Methods:
Sixty infant PPT sessions were video-taped. Two random samples of 10 videos were used to determine interrater and intrarater reliability using interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals. Completeness of GOP 2.0 was based on 60 videos.
Results:
Interrater reliability of quantifying PPT actions was excellent (ICC, 0.75-1.0) in 71% and sufficient to good (ICC, 0.4-0.74) in 24% of PPT actions. Intrarater reliability was excellent in 94% and sufficient to good in 6% of PPT actions. Completeness was good for greater than 90% of PPT actions.
Conclusions:
GOP 2.0 has good reliability and completeness. After appropriate training, it is a useful tool to quantify PPT for children with developmental disorders.
