%0 Journal Article
%T Development, validation, and psychometric analysis of Foot and Ankle Flexibility Index (FAFI).
%A Martínez-Sebastián C
%A Gijon-Nogueron G
%A Ramos-Petersen L
%A Morales-Asencio JM
%A Molina-García C
%A Evans AM
%J J Tissue Viability
%V 33
%N 3
%D 2024 Aug 22
%M 38862327
%F 3.374
%R 10.1016/j.jtv.2024.05.010
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To develop a new tool for identifying joint hypermobility of the paediatric foot and ankle, based on a dichotomous scoring system utilising the Lower Limb Assessment Score (LLAS), to separate the foot and ankle items.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>A total of 205 children, aged between 5 and 10 years, participated in a cross-sectional study. The new tool Foot and Ankle Flexibility Index (FAFI) was predicated upon the last 7 items of LLAS, which are specific to the foot and ankle. The internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's test. Kappa statistics with 95% CI were calculated to verify the level of inter-rater and intra-rater agreement for the FAFI.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Cronbach's alpha returned 0.82. The correlations between items returned a mean of 0.59 (range: 0.43-0.74). The discrimination score on the ROC curve (4 points) showed that the model can be used to identify children with joint hypermobility of the foot and ankle. Inter-rater reliability was largely good (ICC = 0.89). Excellent intra-rater reliability was found (ICC = 0.96) CONCLUSIONS: This study identified high reliability between evaluators, and high sensitivity and specificity, for a new reliable and valid tool for the identification of foot and ankle joint hypermobility.