Development and initial validity of the in-hand manipulation assessment

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Rehabilitation science
• Hand function assessment

Background:

• Existing literature lacks a specific assessment for in-hand manipulation (IHM) in adults.
• Adults with impaired hand function require a validated tool to measure IHM skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the face and content validity of a novel IHM assessment for adults with impaired hand function.
• To develop a reliable and clinically applicable IHM assessment based on expert opinion.

Main Methods:

• Face validity was established through a focus group discussion on IHM skills, tasks, and scoring.
• Content validity was assessed by an expert panel (n=16) evaluating task representativeness, relevance, clarity, and clinical applicability.
• Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated (I-CVI and S-CVI) to quantify validity.

Main Results:

• A focus group identified 10 assessment tasks covering all essential IHM skills.
• Expert panel review confirmed good content validity, with all tasks achieving I-CVI > 0.78 and S-CVI > 0.80.
• Tasks were refined for clarity and daily life importance, and a 4-point Likert scale was adopted for scoring.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed IHM assessment demonstrates established face and content validity.
• Further research is recommended to explore the psychometric properties and clinical utility of this assessment.