Establishing expert consensus on the evaluation of pediatric upper extremity function

Yumiko Hao; Katie Bala; Matthew McRae; Heather Carnahan; Gregory H Borschel; Emily S Ho

doi:10.1016/j.jht.2014.09.004

Establishing expert consensus on the evaluation of pediatric upper extremity function

J Hand Ther. 2015 Apr-Jun;28(2):151-6; quiz 157. doi: 10.1016/j.jht.2014.09.004. Epub 2014 Sep 28.

Authors

Yumiko Hao¹, Katie Bala², Matthew McRae³, Heather Carnahan², Gregory H Borschel⁴, Emily S Ho⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Program in Physiology and Experimental Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: Emily.ho@sickkids.ca.

PMID: 25449718
DOI: 10.1016/j.jht.2014.09.004

Abstract

Study design: Consensus statement.

Introduction: There is a lack of consensus in the literature on the measures of pediatric upper extremity (UE) function for musculoskeletal conditions.

Purpose: To establish expert consensus on utility, satisfaction and importance of functional outcome measures in children with UE musculoskeletal conditions, across International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) domains.

Methods: Using Delphi Consensus Methodology, expert panelists completed three rounds of questionnaires.

Results: Agreement on Body Functions and Structure, Activity, and Participation outcome measures was determined (α, ICC range = 0.86-0.96). Mean satisfaction of measures in the respective domains was between 6.93 and 7.94. The Activity domain had lowest satisfaction, however there was consensus it was the most important.

Discussion: Consensus on relative importance, but low satisfaction in the Activity domain suggests a need for better outcomes in this domain.

Conclusions: Findings report the status of outcome measure utility and use in pediatric UE function.

Level of evidence: 5.

Keywords: Delphi methodology; Outcome assessment; Pediatrics; Upper extremity.

MeSH terms

Activities of Daily Living
Child
Child, Preschool
Consensus*
Disability Evaluation*
Hand Strength / physiology
Humans
Motor Skills / physiology
Musculoskeletal Diseases / diagnosis*
Musculoskeletal Diseases / etiology
Musculoskeletal Diseases / physiopathology
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Range of Motion, Articular / physiology
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Task Performance and Analysis
Upper Extremity / physiology*