Objective: This study aimed to investigate the gap between the knowledge and practice of shared decision making（SDM）and differences in goal setting according to patient’s age range and years of therapist’s experience.

Methods: A total of 115 therapists working with pediatric patients were surveyed via a web-based questionnaire to determine the burden of goal setting as well as the status and content of SDM practice related to goal setting. The results were compared in two groups according to years of the therapist’s experience, and the contents of free descriptions were subjected to qualitative descriptive analysis.

Results: Over two-thirds of the subjects felt burdened by goal setting. There was no difference in the status of SDM practice between the two groups, while there were differences in the content of goal setting based on the age of the target patients. Additionally, there was a discrepancy between the state of SDM practice and the outcome of the qualitative descriptive analysis.

Conclusions: Therapists in the pediatric field face a gap in their knowledge and practice of SDM, suggesting differences in the content of goal setting depending on the years of experience.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the inter-rater reliability and construct validity of the Index of Postural Stability (IPS) while seated as an assessment of sitting balance for patients with spastic cerebral palsy.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included 29 patients with spastic cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I: 4, II: 4, III: 10, and IV: 11). The measures were the IPS while seated, the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), and the self-care and mobility domains of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI).

Results: The inter-rater reliability of the IPS while seated was intraclass correlation coefficient (2.1) = 0.92 (95% confidence intervals: 0.75-0.98), with a minimum detectable change of 0.46. The correlation coefficients with the TIS were 0.62, 0.57, and 0.57 for dynamic sitting balance, coordinated movement, and total score, respectively. The correlation coefficients with the PEDI were 0.55 and 0.46 for mobility, and 0.54 and 0.51 for self-care.

Conclusion: The seated IPS had good inter-rater reliability as an assessment of sitting balance in patients with spastic cerebral palsy using a gravimetric sway meter, which supports its construct validity.

Objective: We investigated the relationship between the Dubowitz neurological assessment near the due date of very low birth weight infants and the Measured Kyoto developmental scale at 1 year and 6 months of age. We examined the usefulness of the Dubowitz neurological assessment in very low birth weight infants.

Method: We compared each category of the Dubowitz Neurological Assessment and the Measured Kyoto developmental scale between very low birth weight infants and birth weight 1,000 – 1,500g infants. We examined Spearman’s correlation coefficient between the Dubowitz neurological assessment total score and all areas of the Measured Kyoto developmental scale Developmental Quotient. We examined the usefulness of each group as a qualitative test (sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic test [ROC] curve).

Results: Very low birth weight infants had lower scores on the Dubowtiz neurological assessment for posture and muscle tone, movement categories, and totals. A significant correlation was found between the total items of the Dubowitz neurological assessment and all areas of the Measured Kyoto developmental scale. The area under the ROC curve showed good predictive ability.

Conclusions: The Dubowitz Neurological Assessment Score in very low birth weight infants was associated with developmental status at adjusted 1 year and 6 months, suggesting its validity as a predictive tool.