Development of a Comprehensive Outcome Measure for Motor Coordination; Step 1: Three-Phase Content Validity Process

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Movement Science

Background:

• Motor coordination is crucial for organized movements but is often impaired following neurological injuries.
• Current outcome measures primarily focus on endpoint performance, neglecting movement quality aspects like joint displacements.
• A need exists for comprehensive measures assessing multi-segmental coordination in neurological populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel outcome measure, the Comprehensive Coordination Scale (CCS), for assessing motor coordination in adults with neurological injuries.
• The CCS aims to evaluate coordination at both the endpoint trajectory and movement quality levels using observational kinematics.
• To provide a more holistic assessment of spatial and temporal coordination deficits.

Main Methods:

• The Comprehensive Coordination Scale (CCS) was developed through a 3-phase process: instrument development, Delphi process, and focus group meetings.
• Content validation involved 8 neurological experts assessing the relevance, comprehension, and feasibility of tests and rating scales.
• Consensus on wording and identification of assessment gaps were achieved through expert questionnaires and a focus group.

Main Results:

• The final CCS includes 6 tests assessing various coordination aspects: finger-to-nose, arm-trunk, finger, lower extremity, and interlimb coordination.
• The scale incorporates spatial and temporal variables, totaling 69 points, with higher scores indicating better performance.
• A key finding was the identification and inclusion of hand/finger coordination assessment, previously a noted gap.

Conclusions:

• The Comprehensive Coordination Scale (CCS) presents a potentially valuable, understandable, and feasible outcome measure for evaluating spatial and temporal coordination.
• The CCS addresses limitations of existing measures by incorporating movement quality alongside endpoint performance.
• Further details on the CCS measurement properties are available in a companion publication.