Novita Research Report January 1999 - Novita Children's Services

More documents

Recommendations

Info

What is the evidence for the use of the gross motor function measure (GMFM-88) as a functional outcome measure for children with cerebral palsy Susan Gibson Senior Research Physiotherapist Physiotherapy Staff Objective The purpose of this critical appraisal of the literature was to (1) establish whether the GMFM-88 a reliable and valid tool to detect change in the gross motor skills of children with CP, and (2) establish its clinical usefulness and its sensitivity to detect change Method A systematic search was conducted using multiple databases through South Australian Health Services Libraries Consortium database (SALUS). Databases searched: Medline, CINAHL, AMED, Current Contents, IDEAL, Science Direct, Cochrane Library and Sports Discus. Key words: cerebral palsy, Gross Motor Function Measure, GMFM, GMFM-88, Gross Motor Performance Measure, GMPM, Gross Motor Functional Classification Scale, GMFCS, GMFM-66. Crombie Appraisal Tools, modified by the Clinical Research Department at Novita, were used to critically appraise the literature. All studies and articles located were acceptable evidence. Results A total of 50 studies were included. 12 articles pertaining to Question 1 (reliability and validity) were appraised: 3 reviews, 7 observational studied and 2 experimental studies. For Question 2 (clinical usefulness) 38 articles were appraised: 4 reviews, 4 case studies, 15 observational studies and 15 experimental studies. The outcomes of the critical appraisal of the literature was that: • The GMFM-88 is a reliable and valid measure used to evaluate change in motor function in children with CP, it is not a very sensitive tool for the higher functioning child with a mild motor impairment, and a ceiling effect can be reached making it difficult to measure improvements in these children; • The GMFM-88 has been validated for use with children with Downs Syndrome and Osteogenesis Imperfecta; and • The GMFM-88 has been used to establish baseline profiles and detect change in gross motor function after interventions such as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomies, Botulinum Toxin Type A injections, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and to demonstrate a treatment effect in the research into efficacy of intensive physiotherapy intervention and muscle strengthening programs for children with CP. 46 Implications This critical appraisal of the literature supports the use of the GMFM-88 as a Functional Outcomes Measurement tool for children with cerebral palsy. The physiotherapy staff at Novita continues to use the GMFM-88 as a clinical outcome measurement. The Physiotherapy Department also now uses the Gross Motor Functional Classification System, and have recently embarked on a training program for all physiotherapists at Novita in the use of the GMFM-66 and the Gross Motor Ability Estimator. Project completed in 2001 Novita Children’s Services Incorporated • Research Report January 1999 – June 2004
The prevalence of low back pain in parents of children with a physical disability aged 5 years or below Nathan Ward 1 Honours Student Supervisor Marie Williams 1 Associate Professor Novita Supervisor Trish Bate Senior Research Physiotherapist 1 School of Health Sciences – Physiotherapy, University of South Australia Objective Low back pain (LBP) is a significant issue within the general population. Numerous risk factors have been linked to the development of LBP, with many of these presumed to be present in parents of young children. To date, there is little information concerning the prevalence of LBP in adults caring for young physically disabled children. The aim of this study was to conduct a survey to investigate the incidence of LBP in parents of children aged five years or below that have a physical disability. Method This study used a survey design where a postal questionnaire was undertaken to determine the prevalence of LBP in the study population. The questionnaire was administered to parents who had a child who was registered with Novita and was 5 years of age or younger. The Nordic Low Back Questionnaire and the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire were used in the study. A purpose-designed questionnaire to provide demographics was also mailed to each subject. Two hundred and seventy five packages were mailed out. Results This study achieved a final response rate of 36.7% (n=101). For this sample, there was a lifetime prevalence of 90.1%, 12-month prevalence of 87.1% and a seven-day prevalence of 54.5%. On the day they completed the survey, 59% of parents said they had low back pain. Most parents reported only a small amount of inconvenience caused by the low back pain. There was no link between the time spent caring, washing/dressing, feeding, playing with and lifting/carrying the child and the level of disability. In the past year, 37% of the parents had sought help from a doctor, physiotherapist, chiropractor or another person due to low back pain. Low back pain had affected the normal work activities of 36% of the parents, with 41% having to limit their leisure activity due to low back pain in the last year. There also appeared to be no link between receiving assistance from a paid carer and having low back pain in either the last 7 days or 12 months. This means that having a paid carer did not help reduce or increase the incidence of low back pain in our study group. Implications The findings of the study suggest that LBP may be a significant issue for some parents with a young disabled child. However, due to the low response rate, prevalence figures cannot be considered significant of the entire population group. The Physiotherapy Discipline at Novita is considering whether back care information sessions and classes for parents should be offered on an ongoing basis. 47 Project completed in 2003 Novita Children’s Services Incorporated • Research Report January 1999 – June 2004
Page 1 and 2: Research Report January 1999 - June
Page 3 and 4: foreword Novita Children’s Servic
Page 5 and 6: PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR PROJECT TITLE
Page 7 and 8: esearch evaluations (http://bluewir
Page 9 and 10: Clinical Research Selection Process
Page 11 and 12: Researcher Profiles Susan Bostock B
Page 13 and 14: Society for Augmentative and Altern
Page 15 and 16: Paediatric dysphagia and physical d
Page 17 and 18: Can typically developing preschool
Page 19 and 20: Handwriting of children who have he
Page 21 and 22: Now I can eat too: The impact of an
Page 23 and 24: School vocabulary in typically deve
Page 25 and 26: Unravelling handwriting: an investi
Page 27 and 28: Convergence of AAC and portable com
Page 29 and 30: Predictors of device abandonment: t
Page 31 and 32: Vocabulary Organiser - enhancement
Page 33 and 34: Vocabulary Organiser - the addition
Page 35 and 36: Movement-to-m usic therapy David Ho
Page 37 and 38: Integrated control of wheelchairs &
Page 39 and 40: Toan Nguyen 1 Master of Engineering
Page 41 and 42: Mobile phone access via an augmenta
Page 43 and 44: Technological options for people wi
Page 45 and 46: Using product features to select ap
Page 47: Use of the Canadian Occupational Pe
Page 51 and 52: Comparison of feedback conditions i
Page 53 and 54: Evaluation of family centred practi
Page 55 and 56: Motor and functional outcomes of ch
Page 57 and 58: Australian representation on ISO TC
Page 59 and 60: Development and delivery of an unde
Page 61 and 62: Rob Garrett Group Leader, R&D, Engi
Page 63 and 64: Evaluation and scoping of a movemen
Page 65 and 66: Resource allocation project Sonya M
Page 67 and 68: conference presentations Novita’s
Page 69 and 70: Australian Cerebral Palsy Associati
Page 71 and 72: DESIGN AND PRODUCTION CORPORATE PRO

Novita Research Report January 1999 - Novita Children's Services

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?