Abstract des Autors

Objective: This study examined the test-retest reliability of selected motor fitness test items among children with severe traumatic brain injury. Design: A cohort study consisting of two testing sessions, one week apart. Setting: All subjects were recruited from among the former clients of a pediatric rehabilitation center. Subjects: A convenience sample of 19 subjects, 13 boys and 6 girls aged 8 to 17 years, volunteered to participate. All participants had a diagnosis of a severe traumatic brain injury (X+/-SD = 5.88+/- 1.71 on the Glascow Coma Scale), had completed a program of physical rehabilitation, and were evaluated at 4.16+/-2.61 years after their injury. Main Outcome Measures: Performance on twelve motor fitness test items (including flexibility, agility, muscular strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, power, muscular endurance, and coordination) was measured at each of two structured evaluation sessions. Results: No differences (t tests, p</=.05) were found between the performances on the two testing sessions for any of the variables. The test-retest reliability was established via the intraclass correlation (ICC) and ranged from .84 to .98, indicating "almost perfect" agreement. Conclusion: The data indicate that these motor fitness testing protocols are reliable and applicable to traumatic brain injured children in a clinical setting and can thus be used by therapists to plan future interventions to improve the fitness of this clientele. Verf.-Referat