Prepared by:

Robyn Gall, Richard Denniston, Natalie Hookway
4th Year Occupational Therapy Students
robs_gall@hotmail.com

&

Jane Galvin
Lecturer,
School of Occupational Therapy
La Trobe University,
Bundoora, Australia
j.galvin@latrobe.edu.au

Date:

June  2004

Review Date:

June 2006

Clinical Question:

Which measure, the PEDI or the WeeFIM, is more reliable, valid and responsive for assessing self-care outcomes in children recovering from acquired brain injuries?

Clinical Scenario:

There is increasing emphasis on evaluation of therapy outcomes by occupational therapists working with children recovering from acquired brain injuries (ABI).  Preliminary searching revealed two paediatric assessments designed to assess functional outcomes: The Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PED) and the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM).  Both assessments assess similar areas of function, but we wanted to know if one was more reliable, valid and responsive than the other for use with children recovering from ABI. .

Clinical Bottom Line:

The PEDI has better psychometric properties and is the assessment of choice for individual assessment of self-care outcomes in children who have sustained an ABI.  The WeeFIM shows potential for individual assessment, and service evaluation, for children with ABI but needs to be more rigorously studied in populations of children who have sustained acquired injuries.

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