Concurrent Validity Between the AM-PAC “6-Clicks” Basic Mobility Short Form and the WeeFIM in the Pediatric Acute Care Population

Abstract

Purpose: 

To evaluate concurrent validity between the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) “6-clicks” basic mobility short form (BMSF) and the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) and the interrater reliability for the AM-PAC BMSF for pediatric patients in the acute care setting.

Methods: 

In this prospective, cross-sectional study, study participants completed the AM-PAC BMSF and the mobility domains of the WeeFIM. One therapist recorded scores for each of the outcome measures, while a second blinded therapist recorded scores for the AM-PAC BMSF. Spearman correlation coefficients (r_s) were used to describe the relationships between measures, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess interrater reliability.

Results: 

n = 30 children (4-17 years of age) participated in this study. A significant, strong, and positive correlation was found between the AM-PAC BMSF and WeeFIM total scores (r_s = 0.95, P < .001) as well as between the transfer scores (r_s = 0.93, P < .001). Excellent agreement was found between raters for the AM-PAC BMSF (ICC = 0.97).

Conclusions: 

The AM-PAC BMSF demonstrates strong concurrent validity compared with the WeeFIM and has an excellent interrater agreement, suggesting that it may be a valid and reliable measure to objectively quantify functional mobility for pediatric patients in the acute care setting.