Internal Consistency and Floor/Ceiling Effects of the Gross Motor Function Measure for Use with Children Affected by Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study
Children/adolescents with cancer can develop adverse effects impacting gross motor function. There is a lack of gross motor function assessment tools that have been validated for this population. The aim of this multicenter cross-sectional study was to preliminary validate the 88-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88) for use in children/adolescents with cancer, exploring internal consistency and floor/ceiling effect. Inclusion criteria regarded children/adolescents diagnosed with cancer on treatment or <1 year off therapy. The internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α, and the floor-ceiling effects were calculated through percentage. This study involved 217 participants with heterogeneous neoplasm conditions. Internal consistency was good, with a Cronbach's α of 0.989. Floor-ceiling effect analysis reveals that several items obtained a dichotomous scoring distribution in each of the five sub-scales of the GMFM-88. This can be explained by the heterogeneous clinical characteristics of the target population. The preliminary validation of GMFM-88 in a group of children/adolescents affected by cancer suggests that some items are not able to discriminate between different gross motor function levels, and therefore it does not represent an informative tool to measure gross motor function in children with cancer. Future research is needed to define which ones could be more useful for clinical practice.
Authors
- Lucia Longo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4805-6241)
- Michela Peranzoni
- Margherita Cerboneschi
- Roberto Casalaz
- Giulia Zucchetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1437-3572)
- Federica Ricci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2019-612X)
- Chiara Pellegrini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6073-6891)
- Paola Imazio
- Giovanni Galeoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9043-5686)
- Gabriella Naretto
- Marco Rabusin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5555-5538)
- Nicoletta Orsini
- Marta Cervo
- Andrea Martinuzzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0319-3579)
- Annalisa Cornelli
- Daniele Panzeri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3511-8709)
- Francesca Rossi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1335-5121)
- Veronica Sciannameo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0499-0131)
- Franca Fagioli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9257-900X)
- Miriana Ferrarese
- Paola Berchialla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5835-5638)
- Chiara Di Pede (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7465-9567)
- Marco Tofani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2071-4513)
- Fabiola Picone
- Annalisa Calcagno
- Claudia Zigrino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1783-0492)
- Daniele Bertin
- Maria Lorenzon
- Monica Valle
- Maria Esposito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7095-7957)
Institutions
- IRCCS Materno Infantile Burlo Garofolo (IT)
- Istituto Giannina Gaslini (IT)
- Ospedale di Bolzano (IT)
- Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII (IT)
- Meyer Children's Hospital (IT)
- Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IT)
- Ospedale Regina Margherita (IT)
- IRCCS Eugenio Medea (IT)
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (IT)
- Link Campus University (IT)
- University of Turin (IT)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Current Oncology
- Published
- 2024-09-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol31090390
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.66