Development of an assessment protocol to operationalize the core set of the International Classification of Functioning for people with cerebral palsy.

Abstract

The core sets (CS) of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for cerebral palsy (CP) have been applied in different contexts but have not been operationalized in the CP population in Argentina. To select instruments for implementation, a four-stage cross-sectional study was conducted: training in ICF, consensus on instruments, evaluation of intra- and interobserver agreement, and pilot testing. Sixtynine professionals participated in the training, and 13 in the consensus. In the first round, agreement was reached in 15 of 24 categories (92.8%), and new options were proposed for the remaining ones. The second round achieved 95.6% agreement. Intra-observer agreement was 0.84, and inter-observer agreement was 0.86. The pilot test (n = 7) allowed five categories to be adjusted. The first national protocol for assessing ICF CS in children with CP is thus proposed.