Instrumento de avaliação de crianças com deficiência visual: análise do Teste AVIF com a teoria de resposta ao item

Abstract

Introduction: Vision integrates the others senses and it is responsible for great part of the child's learning process. As a result, visual impairment can compromise neuropsychomotor development. In order to avoid or minimise developmental delays, children from 0 to 7 years of age must undergo an ophthalmological and functional assessment to begin a vision habilitation program by multidisciplinary team. The assessment of any remaining vision is necessary to define the intervention process. There are few validated instruments for this purpose to preschool children. The AVIF Test was developed and validated as observationally children visual capacity asses of children with low vision from 2 to 6 years of age. It has 36 items and the average application time is 40 minutes. Objective: to apply Item Response Theory (IRT) and Rasch analysis to the AVIF Test in order to improve it and to add a version with a smaller number of items to contribute to specialised low vision centres in the public and/or private services in Brazil. Method: A methodological research, with data collection from the Children's Low Vision Sector of Hospital São Geraldo – Hospital das Clínicas of UFMG/EBSERH and in the Strabismus Sector of the Instituto de Olhos de Belo Horizonte, totaling a sample of 150 tests. These data were from medical records of children with low vision, aged 2 to 6 years, who underwent evaluation with the AVIF Test and ophthalmological examination between 2013 and 2023. Data analysis: IRT was used with the partial credit model and the Rasch analysis model to verify the accuracy of the AVIF Test items regardless of the respondents. Results: eighteen out of the thirty-six items of the AVIF Test demonstrated a level of information relevant to the assessment of functional vision. Conclusion: The IRT and Rasch analysis of the sample allow discussion to define an abbreviated version and qualitative information for subsequent validation.