Current Oncology (Sep 2024)

Internal Consistency and Floor/Ceiling Effects of the Gross Motor Function Measure for Use with Children Affected by Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study

  • Francesca Rossi,
  • Monica Valle,
  • Giovanni Galeoto,
  • Marco Tofani,
  • Paola Berchialla,
  • Veronica Sciannameo,
  • Daniele Bertin,
  • Annalisa Calcagno,
  • Roberto Casalaz,
  • Margherita Cerboneschi,
  • Marta Cervo,
  • Annalisa Cornelli,
  • Chiara Di Pede,
  • Maria Esposito,
  • Miriana Ferrarese,
  • Paola Imazio,
  • Maria Lorenzon,
  • Lucia Longo,
  • Andrea Martinuzzi,
  • Gabriella Naretto,
  • Nicoletta Orsini,
  • Daniele Panzeri,
  • Chiara Pellegrini,
  • Michela Peranzoni,
  • Fabiola Picone,
  • Marco Rabusin,
  • Federica Ricci,
  • Claudia Zigrino,
  • Giulia Zucchetti,
  • Franca Fagioli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol31090390
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31, no. 9
pp. 5291 – 5306

Abstract

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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.

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