Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 14, 2026
Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates
Published on: November 11, 2011
Measuring Hand Dexterity in People With Parkinson's Disease: Reliability of Pegboard Tests
Elizabeth L Proud1, Belinda Bilney2, Kimberly J Miller3
1Elizabeth L. Proud, PhD, is Online Tutor, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; lproud@unimelb.edu.au.
Importance:
Knowledge regarding the reliability of pegboard tests when used to measure dexterity in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) is currently limited.
Objective:
To examine the test-retest and interrater reliability of the 9-Hole Peg Test (9HPT) and Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) in people with PD.
Design:
Cross-sectional observational study. For test-retest reliability, tests were completed on 2 days, 1 wk apart, in the "on" phase and "end-of-dose" period of participants' medication cycle. For interrater reliability, occupational therapists and physical therapists rated prerecorded pegboard test performance of participants with PD.
Setting:
Test-retest reliability was determined in participants' homes or in a university department. Interrater reliability was determined in a university department or a hospital setting.
Participants:
Test-retest reliability was determined with volunteers diagnosed with PD (N = 30). Interrater reliability was determined with a convenience sample of occupational and physical therapists (N = 11).
Outcomes And Measures:
The 9HPT and PPT are commonly used measures of manual dexterity.
Results:
PPT subtests showed higher test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] ≥ .90) in both phases of the medication cycle compared with the 9HPT (ICCs = .70-.81). Minimal detectable change scores indicated acceptable measurement error for both tools. Interrater reliability for recorded performance of each measure was very good (ICCs > .99), with no calculable measurement error.
Conclusions And Relevance:
Although both tools showed adequate test-retest and interrater reliability, results suggest that the PPT may be a more reliable measure of dexterity loss in people with PD.
What This Article Adds:
This study informs the clinical measurement of the loss of manual dexterity in people with PD, a frequent problem reported by people living with this disorder.
