FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN LIMB DEFICIENCY - DEVELOPMENT OF AN OUTCOME MEASURE FOR PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN

Objective: To develop an outcome measure of functional status in presc hool children with limb deficiency. Design: Parents of preschool child ren with limb deficiency completed self-report measures during a routi ne medical clinic visit. Setting: Outpatient pediatric clinic. Partici pants: Fifty-two parents of children (ages 4 to 7) with acquired or co ngenital limb deficiency. Main Outcome Measure: The newly developed Ch ild Amputee Prosthetics Project-Functional Status Inventory for Presch ool children (CAPP-FSIP). Results: Initial psychometric studies indica te high internal consistency reliability of the new instrument. Conten t validity was established through expert clinician review. Initial co nstruct validity analyses confirm that the CAPP-FSIP discriminates bet ween children with upper and lower deficiency and their prosthesis use for functional activities. Conclusion: The CAPP-FSIP is a promising n ew measure for evaluating preschool age children with limb deficiency. (C) 1998 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.