title: Reproducibility of two functional field exercise tests for children with cerebral palsy who self-propel a manual wheelchair.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the test-retest reproducibility (reliability and agreement) of the 6-minute push test (6MPT) and the one-stroke push test (1SPT), and construct validity of the 6MPT in children with cerebral palsy (CP) who self-propel a manual wheelchair.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-three children and adolescents with spastic CP (51 males, 22 females; mean age 11 y 9 mo, SD 3 y 7 mo, range 4-18 y; three unilateral, 70 bilateral) using a manual wheelchair for at least part of the day were recruited from and tested in different rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands and Brazil. Participants were classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level II (n=7), III (n=36), or IV (n=30).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for distance covered on the 6MPT (mean distance 266.5 m, SD 120.6 m) and the 1SPT (mean distance 4.5 m, SD 2.7 m) showed excellent reliability (ICC=0.97) for both tests. There was a significant correlation between the 6MPT and the 1SPT (r=0.73; p<0.001), and between the 6MPT and heart rate during the 6MPT (r=0.29, p=0.014).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that both the 6MPT and the 1SPT test are reproducible functional tests for young people with CP who self-propel a wheelchair. Agreement for the 6MPT seems relatively large for children who perform short distances. Construct validity is supported for the 6MPT in children with CP.
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience and Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht and Rehabilitation Center De Hoogstraat, Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Partner of NetChild, Network for Childhood Disability Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Verschuren
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience and Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht and Rehabilitation Center De Hoogstraat, Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Partner of NetChild, Network for Childhood Disability Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marjolijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ketelaar
authors.affiliation: Research Center Lifestyle and Health, Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Janke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Groot
authors.affiliation: SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals, Macapá, Brazil.
authors.forename: FÁbio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vila Nova
authors.affiliation: Child Development and Exercise Center, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takken
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014910:Wheelchairs