Gross motor function classification system family questionnaire: validating Yoruba-Nigerian version

Abstract

Background  Assessment of the functional abilities of children with cerebral palsy would be more reliable if care givers are included. An instrument commonly used for assessing functional abilities in CP by their caregivers is the Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Questionnaire. No Nigerian Version of this instrument is currently available; hence this study was designed to evaluate the criterion- related validity of the Yoruba (Nigerian) version of the GMFCSFQ among care givers of children with cerebral palsy. Method  Fifteen primary caregivers of children with CP, who are fluent in speaking, reading, and writing both English and Yoruba Languages, were purposively sampled from among those bringing their children or wards for physiotherapy at the University College Hospital Nigeria and involved in this study. The participants completed within one week interval, the English and Yoruba versions of the GMFCSFQ by choosing one of the five ordinal levels corresponding to the gross motor function of their children. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between the scores from the English and the Yoruba versions of the instrument. Significant level was set at ά=0.05. Results  A strong positive and significant correlation was obtained between the English and Yoruba Versions of the GFMCSFQ (ρ=0.89, p=0.00). Conclusion  This suggests that the Yoruba version of the GMFCSFQ is a valid version of the original (English) version. It could therefore be used to gather information about the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy from their family members or caregivers among Yoruba speaking people of West Africa and in Diaspora. Key words: Cerebral Palsy, Gross Motor Function, Yoruba.