Correlation and Prediction of GMFM-88 Scores with GMFCS Levels among Children with Cerebral Palsy in Palestine: A Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59994/ajamts.2025.2.8Keywords:
Cerebral Palsy, GMFM-88, GMFCS Gross Motor Function, Functional Mobility, Cross-Sectional StudyAbstract
This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) scores and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels among 50 children with cerebral palsy aged 4–12 years attending pediatric rehabilitation centers in Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. The findings demonstrated a strong and statistically significant negative correlation between GMFM-88 total and domain scores and GMFCS levels (ρ = −0.909, p < 0.001), indicating that children with higher gross motor function scores were more likely to be classified in lower GMFCS levels, reflecting less severe motor impairment. All GMFM-88 domains showed significant negative correlations with GMFCS levels, with the strongest associations observed in the Walking, Running, and Jumping and Standing domains, highlighting the critical role of higher-level motor skills in differentiating functional severity among children with cerebral palsy. The results confirm a clear inverse relationship between motor performance and severity classification, emphasizing the clinical value of GMFM-88 in functional assessment and rehabilitation planning. This study is considered original as it provides one of the first empirical investigations in Palestine examining the association between GMFM-88 domain-specific scores and GMFCS levels, offering locally relevant evidence to support clinicians in evaluating motor function severity and designing targeted rehabilitation interventions for children with cerebral palsy.
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