Outcome measure for paediatric rehabilitation: Use of the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM). A pilot study in Chinese children with neurodevelopmental disabilities

Abstract

Purpose: To study the use of Functional Independence Measure for children (WeeFIM) in monitoring neurorehabilitation programmes for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Methods: The neurorehabilitation team of the Children's Habilitation Institute of the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital were trained to administer the WeeFIM. The WeeFIM was administered to children with various neurodevelopmental impairment groups undergoing neurorehabilitation programmes in the hospital inpatient and also outpatient setting. The WeeFIM was scored on hospital admission and prior to discharge for those admitted for the rehabilitation programme. The WeeFIM profile was then monitored half yearly. The pilot study used WeeFIM in assessing 104 children with different medical disease categories. The disease or impairment categories included very low birth weight babies (n = 44), cerebral palsy (n = 19), Down's syndrome (n = 9), pervasive developmental disorder (n = 11), Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (n = 18), and others (n = 3). Results: WeeFim could be used to measure disability, monitor progress, enhance communication, measure the effectiveness of treatment, and document the benefits of rehabilitation intervention. It also served as a networking of neurorehabilitation programmes for different impairment categories in a continuum of settings: hospital, community, school and at home. WeeFIM was found to be a quick and reliable functional assessment instrument in this rehabilitation facility. Conclusions: WeeFIM could be used to assist neurorehabilitation clinicians in the selection of short term realistic goals and long term rehabilitation strategies for children with various neurodevelopmental disabilities, and the subsequent progress of the children could be monitored objectively.