"VALIDATION FOR PORTUGUESE OF THE FUNCTIONAL GAIT ASSESSMENT IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE"

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative pathology that leads to gait pattern changes (slowed speed, hypokinesia, festination and freezing), decreasing Rua dos Emigrantes no 19, Toxofal de Baixo, 2530-316, Lourinhã. Email: leslie@live.com.pt Leslie Carvalhosa, Patrícia Bacelar, Margarida Rodrigues, Cláudia Silva, José Luís Pais Ribeiro, & Luisa Pedro www.sp-ps.pt 477 the quality of life and therefore increasing the risk of falls and mortality. As such, it would be pertinent to evaluate the progression of gait parameters in these individuals. The Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) has been shown to be a valid and reliable tool in the assessment of gait and balance in PD. The objective of the study is to contribute to the validation of the FGA for the portuguese language and for PD. This study intends to provide a tool for the clinical evaluation of these patients and to promote gait training. After the translation and retroversion by 2 bilingual translators, the Portuguese version of the FGA was obtained. The sample included 32 participants with idiopathic PD, from 3 institutions (Associação Portuguesa de Doentes de Parkinson, Clínica Prinovhelp, and Policlínica Parque da Paz). The psychometric analysis of the FGA was performed, including verification of internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. The value of Cronbach's alpha obtained for the final score of the FGA for the evaluator A was 0.87 and for the evaluator B it was 0.90. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was obtained for the final GAF score of 0.96 with 95% confidence interval (CI) between 0.93 and 0.98. The FGA showed in the present study a good internal consistency and inter-rater reliability to measure the evolution of balance and gait pattern changes found in the PD.