The reliability and predictive ability of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) in a community-based study in Bhaktapur, Nepal.

Aim: In a Nepalese setting, to measure the reliability of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and its ability to predict development scores at 6 months.
Methods: Nepalese infants (n = 705) were assessed by the TIMP when they were 8-12 weeks old and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd edition (Bayley-III) at 6 months. Inter-rater agreement was expressed by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), the internal consistency by Cronbach's alphas and Pearson correlation coefficients. Predictive ability was estimated in linear regression models.
Results: Inter-rater agreement was excellent (ICCs > 0.93). Alphas for the TIMP total scores were 0.76 for infants born to term and 0.72 in those born preterm. Correlation coefficients between TIMP total and Bayley-III subscale-scores ranged from 0.05 to 0.28 for term infants and from 0.15 to 0.43 for preterm infants. Using American norms, 56.3 % had TIMP scores within average and 43.7 % below average range. Bayley-III subscale scores were lower in children with TIMP scores below the average range, with the strongest estimates for Gross motor and Socio-emotional development.
Interpretation: The reliability of the TIMP was acceptable, and the TIMP could be a feasible tool to monitor infant motor development in low-resource settings. Properties of the TIMP differed according to gestational age.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Jaya S. Silpakar, Suman Ranjitkar, Catherine Schwinger, Merina Shrestha, Ram K. Chandyo and Manjeswori Ulak reports financial support was provided by Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence scheme (project number 223269). Manjeswori Ulak reports financial support was provided by University of Bergen (UiB), Norway, to the Centre for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child Health (CISMAC).
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