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Published on: November 7, 2014
The Reliability and Validity of Data Obtained With the Functional Gait Assessment Modified for Children.
Amanda Chiao1, Jessie N Patterson, Graham D Cochrane
1Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, Texas (Dr Chiao); Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska (Drs Patterson and Janky); Department of Otolaryngology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Dr Cochrane); Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama (Dr Christy).
The Functional Gait Assessment modified for Children (FGA-mC) effectively identifies vestibular loss in pediatric cochlear implant users. This tool shows good reliability and validity for assessing gait function in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Vestibular function assessment
- Gait analysis
Background:
- Cochlear implantation can impact vestibular function.
- Vestibular loss (VL) may affect gait and balance in children.
- Standardized assessments are needed to evaluate functional outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the Functional Gait Assessment modified for Children (FGA-mC) in children with cochlear implants.
- To assess the reliability and validity of the FGA-mC in pediatric populations with and without vestibular loss.
- To determine if FGA-mC scores can differentiate between children with and without vestibular loss.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-nine children (cochlear implant users) completed the FGA-mC and vestibular/functional tests.
- Inter- and intra-rater reliability assessed via video recordings of 20 children.
- Test-retest reliability evaluated in 10 children repeating the FGA-mC.
Main Results:
- Children without VL scored significantly higher on the FGA-mC than those with bilateral VL.
- A cutoff score of <26 on the FGA-mC effectively identified VL with good discrimination, sensitivity, and specificity.
- The FGA-mC demonstrated good inter-rater, intra-rater reliability, and construct validity, but poor test-retest reliability.
Conclusions:
- The FGA-mC is a valuable tool for assessing gait in children with cochlear implants.
- Decreased FGA-mC performance indicates vestibular loss in this population.
- The FGA-mC exhibits good overall reliability and validity for pediatric use.
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