Functional status in children with limb deficiency: development and initial validation of an outcome measure.

Abstract

To develop a new outcome measure in response to the increasing demands for cost effectiveness analyses and empirically derived outcome instruments in the treatment of pediatric limb deficiency. This article describes the development, refinement, and initial psychometric properties of the Child Amputee Prosthetics Project-Functional Status Inventory (CAPP-FSI). Parents of children with limb deficiency were surveyed during routine clinic visits. Two outpatient pediatric clinics. Seventy-five parents and their children with limb deficiency (ages 8 to 17 years) participated in the study as part of annual physical evaluations or routine follow-up care. The newly developed CAPP-FSI. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) = .96 for the CAPP-FSI. Content validity is described and initial construct validity is empirically confirmed. The CAPP-FSI is a promising assessment instrument for measuring important health outcomes in children with upper or lower limb deficiency.