ABILHAND - Presentation
site navigation- The place of manual ability according to the ICF classification
- Development of the ABILHAND scale using the Rasch measurement model
- Synopsis
The place of manual ability according to the ICF classification
Manual ability, as measured by ABILHAND and ABILHAND-Kids, is defined as the capacity to manage daily activities that require the use of the upper limbs, whatever the strategies involved (Penta et al. 1998, 2001, Arnould et al. 2004). It refers to the Activity domain of the ICF.
See the page on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.
Development of the ABILHAND scale using the Rasch measurement model
The ABILHAND questionnaire assesses manual ability as an interview-based test focused on patient's perceived difficulty.
The questionnaire was developed using the Rasch measurement model which provides a method to convert the ordinal raw scores into a linear measure located on a unidimensional scale.
ABILHAND has been validated in chronic stroke patients (Penta et al. 2001), in rheumatoid arthritis patients (Durez et al. 2007) and in systemic sclerosis patients (Vanthuyne et al, in press).
Originally developed in French, ABILHAND has been translated into various languages. ABILHAND specific to chronic stroke patients and ABILHAND specific to rheumatoid arthritis patients are currently available in English, French, Dutch, Italian and Swedish. See the downloads section.
Synopsis
ABILHAND in chronic stroke patients
- 23 bimanual activities.
- Each item is answered on a 3-level scale (impossible, difficult, easy).
- The item difficulty increases with bimanual involvement.
- Measurement range: approx. 7 logits.
- Measurement error: 0.36 logits in the centre of the scale.
- Least measurable difference: 0.13 logit in the centre of the scale.
- Separation reliability: 0.90 in our sample of 103 chronic stroke patients.
- Invariant item hierarchy across: gender, age, side affected, delay since CVA, level of depression, overall ability in our sample of 103 chronic stroke patients.
ABILHAND in rheumatois arthritis patients
- 27 bimanual activities.
- Each item is answered on a 3-level scale (impossible, difficult, easy).
- The item difficulty increases with constraints in the upper limb joints.
- Measurement range: approx. 8 logits.
- Measurement error: 0.42 logits in the centre of the scale.
- Least measurable difference: 0.15 logit in the centre of the scale.
- Separation reliability: 0.95 in our sample of 112 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Invariant item hierarchy across: gender, age, disease duration, number of DMARDs, tender and swollen joint counts, number of hands affected, DAS score, HAQ score, overall ability and time in our sample of 112 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
ABILHAND in systemic sclerosis patients
- 26 uni- and bimanual activities.
- Each item is answered on a 3-level scale (impossible, difficult, easy).
- Measurement range: approx. 9 logits.
- Measurement error: 0.41 logits in the centre of the scale.
- Least measurable difference: 0.18 logit in the centre of the scale.
- Separation reliability: 0.96 in our sample of 156 patients with systemic sclerosis.
- Invariant item hierarchy across: gender, age, language community, systemic sclerosis subsets, disease duration from the onset of Raynaud phenomenon, Finger-to-palm distance, Total Skin Score, presence of digital pit scars and digital ulcers, score of Health assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), disease activity score and total disease severity score (Total DSS)
- Test-retest reliability: ICC = 0.96 after a delay of 1 month
- Construct validity: ABILHAND vs HAQ (ρ = -0.73), and vs Total DSS(ρ = -0.53).