Reliability and validity of the Shaw gait assessment tool for temporospatial gait assessment in people with hemiparesis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the intra-/interrater reliability and the validity of the free web-based Shaw Gait Assessment Tool (with visual and numerical output) for assessing speed, cadence, step length, and limb advance time in people with hemiplegic gait.

DESIGN: Intra-/interrater reliability and concurrent validity with 2 raters using the Shaw Gait Assessment Tool and 1 rater using a multimemory stopwatch.

SETTING: Busy outpatient rehabilitation gym at a tertiary care medical center.

PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of adults with hemiplegic gait after cerebrovascular accident or traumatic brain injury.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients.

RESULTS: ICCs for intrarater reliability ranged from 0.94 (95% CI, 0.88-0.97) to 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96-0.99), (P<.001), and for interrater reliability from 0.95 (95% CI, 0.88-0.98) to 0.99 (95% CI, 0.99-0.99), (P<.001). The Shaw Gait Assessment Tool correlated with the stopwatch for all measured gait parameters with Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients (range, r=0.95 to r= 0.99, P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS: The Shaw Gait Assessment Tool is a free, easy-to-use tool that gives reliable and valid results for 4 temporospatial parameters of hemiplegic gait.