Tech #1075: Gait Outcomes Assessment List (GOAL™)
The Gait Outcomes Assessment List (GOAL™) is a comprehensive patient-reported instrument that evaluates gait function and related outcomes in children with cerebral palsy. Developed through input from patients, caregivers, and multidisciplinary clinicians, it captures a broad spectrum of functional domains to support clinical decision-making and outcome assessment across interventions.
Technology Reference Number
#1075
Inventors
IP&C Contact
Therapeutic Area
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Category
Health Outcome Measure
Keywords
GOAL™, cerebral palsy (CP), gait assessment, patient-reported outcomes, pediatric rehabilitation, functional outcomes measurement, clinical assessment tool, mobility and function
Invention Description
The majority of children with cerebral palsy (CP) are ambulatory, but the quality and the efficiency of their gait can be affected by their hypertonia, muscle contractures and weakness, bony deformities and joint instability. Over the course of their childhood, these children receive a multitude of interventions including various forms of physical and other therapies, orthotics and walking aids, medications, injections, neurosurgical procedures and orthopaedic surgery to address these impairments in order to preserve or improve their gait, optimize physical function and promote participation in life activities.
The Gait Outcomes Assessment List (GOAL™) is a patient reported outcome measure for ambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP). These children are subjected to many different kinds of interventions including physiotherapy, orthotics, spasticity management and orthopaedic surgery, to preserve or improve gait related function. Although there are a number of measures currently used to evaluate gait outcomes in children with CP, none of these comprehensively address the full spectrum of priorities and goals of these children or their parents.
The items of the GOAL™ were derived through an iterative process involving interviews of children with cerebral palsy and their parents; and finalized following a survey of health care professionals from multiple disciplines, who interact with children with CP.
Advantages
- The GOAL™ comprises of 48 items distributed across 7 subscales, and spans all domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
Additional Information
Available in various languages.
