Sonja Mensch

26 Chapter 2 METHODS We performed a systematic review of published articles evaluating psychometric characteristics of instruments for the measurement of gross motor abilities of children with severe disabilities (age range 2-18). Search strategy A literature search in Pubmed (1966 - January 2014), Embase (1980 - January 2014), Web of science (1975 - January 2015), and PsycINFO (1985 - January 2015) was performed in February 2015. Keywords were used alone or separately and if available medical subject heading (MeSH) terms were used. In order to maximise the chance of finding all relevant instruments, a generic set of keywords with a wide range of search terms was chosen to describe the group of persons with disabilities (disabled persons[mesh] OR disabil*[tw] OR disabl*[tw] OR retard*[tw] OR handicap*[tw] (AND (child*[tw] OR infan*[tw] OR pediatr*[tw] OR paediatr*[tw] OR juven*[tw] OR newborn*[tw] OR neonat*[tw] OR (adolescen*[tw] NOT (adult[mesh] OR adult*[tw]). Instruments with different aims such as ‘evaluative’, ‘predictive’, ‘population specific’ and ‘disease specific‘ were searched, in order to provide a complete overview of available information on existing instruments (measurement*[tw] OR measuring[tw] OR measure[tw] OR scale*[tw] OR scaling*[tw] OR evaluat*[tw] OR assess*[tw] OR questionnaire*[tw] OR checklist*[tw] OR protocol*[tw]) AND (psychometr*[tw] OR reliab*[tw] OR valid*[tw] OR responsiv*[tw] OR sensibilit*[tw]). The focus of the search was based upon instruments evaluating motor abilities on the activity level (motor skill*[tw] OR gross motor function*[tw] OR functional mobilit*[tw] OR motor abilit*[tw] OR motor behavio*[tw] OR motor activit*[tw] OR physical activit*[tw] OR locomotor activit*[tw] OR motor performanc*[tw] OR physical performanc*[tw] OR physical mobil*[tw]), according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) (World Health Organization, 2008). Article and instrument selection All English, Dutch, German or French articles including a description of an instrument for the evaluation of motor abilities in children with disabilities were selected. Articles including descriptions of instruments beyond the capacities of the target population were excluded, i.e. instruments that (a) were developed for school children (e.g. Development Coordination Disorder); (b) only measure aspects that are not relevant to children with SMD (e.g. sports, arm-hand function); (c) focus on the level of participation