Validity and Reliability Test of Four-Meter Gait Speed on Six Meter Track for Indonesian Adults

Walking is an essential component of daily life and studies have shown the growing number of clinicians performing walking tests in their daily practice. This study is aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Four-Meter Gait Speed (4MGS) test for healthy Indonesian adults (Mongoloid race). Data collection were conducted at the Rehabilitation Department of Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital during the period of August 2016 to March 2017. Two observers and two trials were involved in measuring the gait speed in the 4MGS test with a 6 meter track. All accumulated data were analyzed for validity using the Bland-Altman test, while test re-test reliability was done using Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency. Sixty-one subjects were involved in this study. There were no significant differences in inter-trial comparison from both observers (P=0.262 and P=0.954). Similarly, intra-observer walking speed comparison in both trials were also not significantly different (P=0.117 and P=0.869). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value between the first and second tests from observer I was 0.839 (Cronbach Alpha,0.911) while the value for observer II was 0.902 (Cronbach Alpha, 0.948). The ICC value between observer I and II in the first trial was 0.906 (Cronbach Alpha, 0.950); whereas the second trial demonstrated a value of 0.890 (Cronbach Alpha, 0.941). Thus, the 6 meter track 4MGS has a good validity and reliability for healthy Indonesian adults. It is expected that the walking speed from this study can be used for Mongoloid race living in other countries and the 4MGS can become an alternative speed-based walk test, especially during COVID-19 pandemic, due to its practicality in measuring functional capacity in a shorter duration

Four-Meter Gait Speed Cut-off and Correlation with 6-Minute Walk Test in Adults

In facilities where a track required is not available for gait speed test, a simpler method using a shorter track and test duration is needed. One of such methods is the 4-meter gait speed. This study aimed to determine the cut off values for 4MGS and its correlation with the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), a more common functional performance test with shorter track and time. Data for this study were collected at the Department of Rehabilitation of Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital during the period of August 2016 to March 2017. The consecutive sampling approach was used to recruit healthy Indonesian adults (n=61) aged 18–50 years into this cross sectional study. The anthropometric and respiratory variables were measured as descriptive data and the cut-off values were determined by calculating the mean 4-meter gait speed (4MGS)-2SD for each gender. The 6MWT was performed afterwards to assess the correlation between 4MGS and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD). Results presented a mean 4MGS value of 2.114±0.309 m/s (male) and 1.908±0.227m/s (female) with the cut-off values for normal gait speed of 1.496 m/s and 1.454m/s for male and female, respectively. Factors affecting 4MGS were body height, body weight, forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). The 4MGS is only shown to be weakly correlated with 6MWD (r=0.314, p=0.014). The cut-off values for 4MGS can be used as a reference to assess the normality of gait speed as a parameter of functional mobility in healthy Indonesian adults and should be used in adjunct to 6MWT to represent a comprehensive functional capacity status

The Influence and Feasibility of Therapeutic Exercise Videos at Home on the Functional Status of Post-COVID-19 Hospitalization

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed physicians to modify conventional practices to reduce the exposure and risk of infection among patients and health workers. Telemedicine is one of the safest methods, and telerehabilitation could prevent the sequelae of COVID-19. A quasi-experimental study with randomized sampling without masking/blinding was conducted. The study was conducted from August 2021 to March 2022 at Hospital A in Pekanbaru, Hospital B in Jayapura, and Hospital C in Jakarta, Indonesia. A total of 27 patients were recruited and divided into control and intervention groups. The control group was given conventional education on therapeutic exercise at home, while the intervention group was shown educational videos about therapeutic exercise at home. The comparison of all functional outcomes between the two groups after the intervention showed a significant difference. The intervention group improved more than the control group, except for the fatigue severity scale. Most of the responses showed that this video was feasible and useful and did not need to be supervised by health workers. Therapeutic exercise educational videos can be an option to deliver rehabilitation programs for post-COVID-19 hospitalized patients