Validity and test-retest reliability of Children's Hand-use Experience Questionnaire in children with unilateral cerebral palsy

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the validity of the internet-based version of the Children's Hand-use Experience Questionnaire (CHEQ) by testing the new four-category rating scale, internal structure, and test-retest reliability.

Method: Data were collected for 242 children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) (137 males and 105 females; mean age 9y 10mo, SD 3y 5mo, range 6-18y). Twenty children from the study sample (mean age 11y 8mo, SD 3y 10mo) participated in a retest within 7 to 14 days. Validity was tested by Rasch analysis based on a rating scale model and test-retest reliability by Kappa analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results: The four-category rating scale was within recommended criteria for rating scale structure. One item was removed because of misfit. CHEQ showed good scale structure according to the criteria. The effective operational range was >90% for two of the CHEQ scales. Test-retest reliability for the three CHEQ scales was: grasp efficacy, ICC=0.91; time taken, ICC=0.88; and feeling bothered, ICC=0.91.

Interpretation: The internet-based CHEQ with a four-category rating scale is valid and reliable for use in children with unilateral CP. Further studies are needed to investigate the validity of the internet-based version of CHEQ for children with upper limb reduction deficiency or obstetric brachial plexus palsy and the validity of the recommended improvements to the current version.