CLINIMETRICS IN HAND THERAPY: HAND ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THERAPY (HANDART), INCLUDING A EUROPEAN DELPHI STUDY

Background: Hand injuries and hand disorders (i.e. "hand conditions") may have a large impact on the performance of people’s daily life activities. It is important to evaluate not only body functions (impairments) but also a... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Hand injuries and hand disorders (i.e. "hand conditions") may have a large impact on the performance of people’s daily life activities. It is important to evaluate not only body functions (impairments) but also a person’s activities (limitations), participation (restrictions) and environmental factors.
A Delphi study was conducted to reach multidisciplinary European consensus on the assessment tools for patients with hand conditions.

Method:
Experts of the European societies for Hand Therapy, Hand Surgery, and Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine were invited to participate in the Delphi study. First, participants were asked which of the 13 preselected categories of the Brief ICF Core Set for Hand Conditions should be assessed. Subsequently, they were asked for each category to choose which of 55 preselected instruments they preferred by confirming or rejecting instrument-specific statements.

Results:
Thirty experts, including occupational therapists, participated. The response rate was 90%. All 13 preselected ICF categories were considered relevant. Consensus was based on ≥75% agreement. After 3 rounds, 9 instruments were definitively selected that could be related to 4 ICF categories regarding body functions and 5 ICF categories regarding activities and participation.

Conclusions:
In this European Delphi study, multidisciplinary consensus was reached on which instruments should be selected for the HandART Core Set of Instruments to assess patients with hand conditions.

Application to Practice:
The HandART core set is an important step forward in clinical practice and research in patients with hand conditions, enabling clinicians and researchers to select the best available tests and facilitate comparisons between clinical studies.