Citation

Jeon YJ, Kim GM. J. Phys. Ther. Sci. 2016; 28(12): 3432-3434.

Affiliation

Department of Physical Therapy, Division of Health Science, Baekseok University, Republic of Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Society of Physical Therapy Science)

DOI

10.1589/jpts.28.3432

PMID

28174467

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare the item difficulty degree between the Pediatric Balance Scale and Fullerton Advanced Balance scale for children with cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] Forty children with cerebral palsy (male=17, female=23) voluntarily participated in the study. Item difficulty was expressed in the Rasch analysis using a logit value, with a higher value indicative of increasing item difficulty. [Results] Among the 24 items of the combined Pediatric Balance Scale and Fullerton Advanced Balance scale, the most difficult item was "Walk with head turns", whereas, the easiest item was "Sitting with back unsupported and feet supported on the floor". Among the 14 items of the Pediatric Balance Scale, 9 items (item 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, and 12) had negative logit values, whereas for the Fullerton Advanced Balance scale, only 1 item (item 1) had a negative logit value. [Conclusion] The Fullerton Advanced Balance scale is a more appropriate tool to assess balance ability than the Pediatric Balance Scale in in a group of higher functioning children with cerebral palsy.

Language: en

Keywords

Balance; Cerebral palsy; Rasch analysis