Psychometric properties of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale and culturally adapted or translated versions when used for infant populations internationally: A systematic review.
Bianca Mendonça, Michael Kong, Alison Coombs and 2 others
PMID 39234875WHAT IT FOUND
The Alberta Infant Motor Scale can score infants consistently, but many countries lack validated norms.
Use a culturally adapted or translated version with local norms when available; otherwise, AIMS scores may not accurately identify motor delay.
Key findings
01AIMS scores were consistent across raters and repeated testing in every study, but only 42% of those results came from studies with very good or adequate quality.
02The AIMS at 3 to 6 months predicted some later motor delay, but it did not predict mild delay or walking onset.
03Only Brazil, Poland, and Thailand had the highest quality evidence for AIMS use, because the tool was culturally adapted and norms were validated or established locally.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
87% of evidence ratings were informed by a single study, so country-level conclusions may not be stable. The review could not combine studies in a meta-analysis because infant populations and AIMS versions varied, and many studies had small samples or low quality. Country-specific norm studies were not checked for whether the sample represented the whole country, so local norms may not fit all infants. Four studies could not be translated well enough to include, which may have changed the evidence for some countries and properties.
Declared interests
The paper names the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, a Children's Hospital Los Angeles California-Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Training Program, and NIH as funders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude the AIMS is ready for every country because reliability was good. Many countries lack validated norms, and the AIMS did not consistently predict later motor delay.