Reliability and validity of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System (EDACS) for children with cerebral palsy in Taiwan
Hsiu‐Ching Chiu, Katherine Buckeridge, Ta-An Lee, Diane Sellers
Abstract
PURPOSE: The study was to assess the inter- and intra-rater reliability, construct validity and utility of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System (EDACS). METHODS: EDACS was translated into in Taiwan using an interactive process. Agreement between health professionals and teachers when using EDACS was assessed using Kappa and the Intraclass Correlation Co-efficient. RESULTS: = 0.87; absolute agreement = 91%). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the Chinese version of EDACS is valid and reliable to be easily used by health professionals and teachers to classify functional eating and drinking abilities in children with cerebral palsy.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe Chinese version of EDACS is valid and reliable to be easily used.EDACS can be used by health professionals and teachers to classify functional eating and drinking abilities in children with cerebral palsy.The EDACS is analogous to other functional classification systems (i.e., GMFCS, MACS and CFCS) and specifically represents eating and drinking ability.