The Development and Evaluation of the Powered Mobility Function Scale (PMFS) for Children and Adolescents with...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Pediatric Physical Therapy
• Assistive Technology

Background:

• Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) often require powered mobility devices to enhance independence.
• Accurate assessment tools are crucial for tracking functional progress and tailoring interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically evaluate a novel task-based measure of powered mobility function, the Powered Mobility Function Scale (PMFS).
• To establish the reliability and validity of the PMFS for children and adolescents with CP.

Main Methods:

• The PMFS was developed in Hebrew through a multi-phase process with clinical and client input.
• Psychometric properties including inter-rater, test-retest reliability, and various forms of validity were assessed in 49 children/adolescents with CP.
• Evaluations utilized the Powered Mobility Program (PMP), Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory Computer Adaptive Test (PEDI-CAT).

Main Results:

• The PMFS underwent 3 versions over 3 years of development.
• High inter-rater (0.75-0.95) and test-retest (0.93-0.96) reliability were demonstrated.
• Strong concurrent validity with PMP (-0.84 to 0.96) and moderate convergent validity with PEDI-CAT (-0.47 to 0.70) were found. Known-groups validity (GMFCS/MACS) showed medium effect sizes (r=0.33-0.46).

Conclusions:

• The Powered Mobility Function Scale (PMFS) is a valid and reliable measure for assessing powered mobility function in pediatric CP populations.
• The findings support the use of PMFS in clinical and research settings for children and adolescents with CP.
• Further validation of an English version of the PMFS is recommended.