Novice Inter-Rater Reliability on the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) After a 4-Hour Training Session

Area of Science:

• Movement science
• Physical therapy assessment
• Clinical reliability studies

Background:

• The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a system for classifying whole-body movement.
• Evidence is needed on the training time required for SFMA reliability in new healthcare practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine SFMA inter-rater reliability between two physical therapy students post-training.
• To compare novice and certified rater scores on SFMA top-tier movements.

Main Methods:

• Two novice raters trained in SFMA by a certified therapist.
• Real-time assessment of SFMA top-tier movements in healthy adults.
• Statistical analysis using ICC for inter-rater reliability.

Main Results:

• Novice raters identified fewer non-optimal movements than the certified clinician.
• Moderate inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.60) was found using the 50-point checklist.
• Significant differences noted between novice and certified rater scores.

Conclusions:

• Third-year physical therapy students demonstrated moderate SFMA inter-rater reliability with a 50-point checklist.
• Variations in novice rater performance suggest a need for more practice.
• Additional training time may enhance the identification of non-optimal movement patterns.