Discriminative validity of the Dutch Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the discriminative validity of the Dutch Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) to differentiate functional status between children with and without disabilities.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

A university children's hospital in the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS

A clinical sample comprising 197 children with disabilities (infantile encephalopathy, n=40; juvenile idiopathic arthritis, n=20; neurometabolic conditions, n=36; neuromuscular disorders, n=9; skeletal disorders, n=28; spina bifida, n=41; traumatic injury, n=23), and 62 children without disabilities.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Functional status was measured by using a Dutch version of the PEDI.

RESULTS

Discriminant analysis established the sensitivity and specificity of the PEDI. Correct predictions of group membership (disabled vs nondisabled) were found in both children without disabilities (93.5% correctly predicted) and children with disabling conditions (91.6% correctly predicted).

CONCLUSION

The discriminative validity of the Dutch PEDI between children with and without disabilities was excellent.