RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE THAI KIDS-BALANCE EVALUATION SYSTEMS TEST (KIDS-BESTEST-TH) IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Abstract

Cerebral palsy causes impairments of the postural control system, as well as difficulties with functional tasks that involved in activities related to daily life. Therefore, the specific tools for evaluating postural control problems were an important issue in terms of planning the suitable treatments for patients. The purposes of this study were as follows: (1) to translate the Kids-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Kids-BESTest) from English into Thai version; (2) to assess the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the Thai version of Kids-BESTest (Kids-BESTest-Th) for children with cerebral palsy; and (3) to assess the concurrent validity of the Kids-BESTest-Th with the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) and the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88) in children with cerebral palsy. The translation processes in this study used forward and backward translation. The English version of Kids-BESTest was translated by English language professionals and physical therapists. Subsequently, the content validity ratio (CVR) was measured in the Kids-BESTest-Th by physical therapists and lecturer. After that, the Kids-BESTest-Th was applied for evaluating reliability and validity in 30 cerebral palsy patients. Balance systems were measured two periods a week apart for reliability. Concurrent validity of Kids-BESTest-Th was correlated with standard measurements of functional balance and activity, such as PBS and GMFM-88 (Dimension B, C, D & E). The statistical analysis were intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for calculating inter- and intra-rater reliability, and Spearman’s correlation (ρ) for calculating the concurrent validity of Kids-BESTest-Th. The results were as follows: the study showed excellent inter - and intra-rater reliability (ICC > 0.94) of the Kids-BESTest-Th in total and section scores. The concurrent validity showed a very high and a high correlation between Kids-BESTest-Th with PBS (r=0.93) and GMGM-88 (r=0.86). In conclusion, Kids-BESTest-Th showed excellent reliability and concurrent validity, which may be applied to cerebral palsy, in terms of evaluating the balance systems.

-