Affiliations: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA | Bangladesh Health Professions Institute, Academic
Institute of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed, Dhaka,
Bangladesh | Disabled Rehabilitation and Research Association,
Dhaka, Bangladesh | Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, International
Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Note: [] Corresponding author: Debra Lindstrom-Hazel, Department of
Occupational Therapy, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Avenue,
Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA. Tel.: +1 269 387 7239; Fax: +1 269 387 7262; E-mail: debra.hazel@wmich.edu
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT) is a simple, quick
assessment often used by occupational therapists to assess finger dexterity. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to standardize the NHPT in
Bangladesh so Bangladeshi therapists can administer and interpret this test
with relevant cultural norms. METHOD: This study includes an inter-rater
reliability (IRR) study and a normative study with Bangladeshi participants. RESULTS: In the IRR study, four raters were placed into 6 teams of two to
establish reliability between individuals in each team. Intra-Class Correlation
(ICC) results showed a high inter-rater reliability with ICC average ratings of
0.882–0.998 between individual raters of each team. Culturally relevant norms
were developed for the NHPT using a sample of 180 participants (females, n=90 and males,
n=90) ranging in age from 18 to 60 years. The data from the
1st trials were analyzed between age categories of both 5 and 10-year
increments. Normative data was found to be clinically significant across
collapsed age groups: 18–39, 40–49, and 50–60 years of age for each gender. CONCLUSION: These age categories were used to standardize the NHPT in
Bangladesh, making it a culturally relevant finger dexterity test for the
Bangladeshi population.
