Dev Neurorehabil. 2026 May 18:1-6. doi: 10.1080/17518423.2026.2674765. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Family-centered care is a foundational principle of early developmental neurorehabilitation; however, family-related outcomes are rarely assessed using instruments specifically developed for this context. The Family Outcome of Early Intervention Questionnaire (FOEI) is an interdisciplinary, family-reported outcome measure currently under development.
OBJECTIVE: To examine selected psychometric properties of the developmental version of the FOEI in a methodological pilot study to inform further instrument refinement, and to provide preliminary evidence that should be interpreted in light of the instrument’s developmental status.
METHODS: In this methodological pilot study with a test-retest design, parents of infants and young children receiving ambulatory early neurorehabilitation completed the FOEI twice within an interval of 7-10 days. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2,1)). Discriminative validity was explored by comparing families receiving Coping with and Caring for Infants with Special Needs (COPCA®) – based family-centered intervention with those receiving conventional physiotherapy. Convergent validity was examined through correlations with the Family Empowerment Scale (FES). Ceiling effects were assessed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: Test – retest reliability of the FOEI total score was moderate in the full sample (ICC(2,1) = 0.58, 95% CI 0.35-0.74) and higher after exclusion of two cases with implausible response patterns (0.79, 95% CI 0.64-0.88). FOEI scores were consistently higher in the COPCA® group, with small to moderate effect sizes, although no differences reached statistical significance after Bonferroni – Holm correction. Convergent validity with the FES was low (ρ = 0.06-0.27).
CONCLUSION: The developmental FOEI version shows preliminary temporal stability in this pilot sample. Further refinement of items and response scaling is required, particularly in light of observed ceiling effects and limited discriminative performance, as part of an ongoing instrument development process.
PMID:42145091 | DOI:10.1080/17518423.2026.2674765
