Inter& Intra rater Reliability of Berg Balance Scale for evaluation of the balance in children with spastic hemieplegia]

Balance is an essential part of motor development. Assessment of balance in children with neurological disorders is necessary before any treatment. There are various versions of balance tests for adult assessment; however, little has been done with regard to a reliable test for evaluating the balance in children with spastic cerebral palsy. The purpose of this study was to investigate inter and intra rater reliability of Berg balance scale in children with spastic hemieplegia. 20 Spastic hemieplegia children were participated in this study (cross sectional). Children were in the range of 6-12 Yrs (Mean & SD, 7/10 &1/58 yrs, correspondingly). Parents were asked to sign the informed consent. Berg Balance Scale tested in one session by two therapist for inter rater and repeated tests by the same therapist for intra rater reliability after a week. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) test was used for inter rater (between two therapists, ICC= 0.966, p<001 and intra rater reliability (repeated test by the same therapist, ICC= 0.988, p<001). The result of this study suggests that inter rater and intra rater reliability of Berg balance scale is acceptable. Therefore, it could be used in clinic for the assessment of children with spastic hemieplegia as a reliable scale.