Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Γενική και Εξειδικευμένη Παιδιατρική: Κλινική Πράξη και ΈρευναLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Author:
Michailidi Fotini
Supervisors info:
1)Σιαχανίδου Σουλτάνα, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
2)Πονς-Ροντρίγκεθ Μαρία-Ροζέ, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ
3)Χαρμανδάρη Ευαγγελία, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Αξιολόγηση της κινητικότητας άνω άκρων βρεφών με την κλίμακα Hand Assessment for Infants (HAI) και έλεγχος αξιοπιστίας της κλίμακας
Translated title:
Evaluation of the mobility of the upper extremities of infants with the Hand Assessment for Infants(HAI) scale and reliability testing of the scale
Summary:
BACKGROUND: Hand Assessment for Infants Infants (HAI) is a scale that evaluates
the mobility of the upper extremities in infants aged 3 to 12 months. Designed
specifically for high-risk infants by a team of health professionals from the Karolinska
Institute in Sweden and the Stella Maris Scientific Institute in Italy. It is the first scale
created to measure how well an infant uses both hands together and each hand
separately, allowing a detailed and careful assessment of the overall skills of the
upper limbs. AIM: The purpose of this study was to apply the Hand Assessment for Infants (HAI)
scale to high-risk infants aged 3-12 months in order to 1)check the reliability of the
scale and 2) evaluate the mobility of their upper extremities. The use of this scale
could help physicians and physiotherapists to better assess the mobility of high-risk
infants so that potential movement disorders can be detected in a timely manner. METHODOLOGY: The HAI scale was translated into Greek and then backed up from
Greek to English to confirm the accuracy of the translation. 23 infants (9 full-term and
14 preterm infants) aged 3 to 12 months, which had been reported as high-risk and
referred for physiotherapy were examined at the neonatal follow-up clinic of the 1st
Department of Pediatrics of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens at ”Aghia
Sophia” Children's Hospital. The collection of the sample lasted 3 months and the
results were analyzed in relation to prematurity, hospitalization in NICU, neurological
examination and other data. The reliability of the scale was examined through
inter-rater reliability, with the evaluation of each infant's hand mobility via observation
by a different researcher. Moreover, a possible correlation between HAI and Alberta
scale scores was evaluated. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. All analyses
were performed using SPSS v.25. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 14 premature and 9 full-term infants. The results
showed very high reliability among the assessors, both for the items related to the use
of both hands at the same time (ICC=.996) and for the items related to the use of each
hand separately (ICC=.984). Moreover, a statistically significant correlation between
the overall score on all items (BoHS) and normal or pathological neurological
examination was found. Infants with normal neurological examination had a higher
overall score on the HAI scale than those with pathological findings on neurological
examination. Finally, the evaluation of the association between the HAI and Alberta
scale scores showed a statistically significant positive correlation between these two
tools. CONCLUSIONS: The HAI scale is the first one to evaluate the mobility of each hand
separately, as well as that of both hands simultaneously, over a wide age range in
infancy, with the ability to compare the use and functionality of both hands. The
findings of this pilot study showed that HAI is a reliable scale for assessing hand
mobility in Greek infants aged 3-12 months and could be used in clinical practice. The present study could be the basis for future research which will contribute to the
strengthening of current results.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Reliability, Μobility, Upper extremities, Infants, Scale, Hand Assessment for Infants
