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Should the Gross Motor Function Classification System be used for children who do not have cerebral palsy?
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Should the Gross Motor Function Classification System be used for children who do not have cerebral palsy?

Megan Towns, Peter Rosenbaum, Robert Palisano and F Virginia Wright
Developmental medicine and child neurology, v 60(2), pp 147-154
Feb 2018
PMID: 29105760
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.13602View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze)

Abstract

Cerebral Palsy - physiopathology Child Child Development - physiology Disability Evaluation Humans Motor Skills - classification Motor Skills - physiology Movement - physiology
This literature review addressed four questions. (1) In which populations other than cerebral palsy (CP) has the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) been applied? (2) In what types of study, and why was it used? (3) How was it modified to facilitate these applications? (4) What justifications and evidence of psychometric adequacy were used to support its application? A search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase databases (January 1997 to April 2017) using the terms: 'GMFCS' OR 'Gross Motor Function Classification System' yielded 2499 articles. 118 met inclusion criteria and reported children/adults with 133 health conditions/clinical descriptions other than CP. Three broad GMFCS applications were observed: as a categorization tool, independent variable, or outcome measure. While the GMFCS is widely used for children with health conditions/clinical description other than CP, researchers rarely provided adequate justification for these uses. We offer recommendations for development/validation of other condition-specific classification systems and discuss the potential need for a generic gross motor function classification system. The Gross Motor Function Classification System should not be used outside cerebral palsy or as an outcome measure. The authors provide recommendations for development and validation of condition-specific or generic classification systems.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Clinical Neurology
Pediatrics
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