Reliability and validity of the Arthritis Hand Function Test in adults with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma).
OBJECTIVE
To determine the interrater and test-retest reliability and validity of the Arthritis Hand Function Test (AHFT) in persons with systemic sclerosis.


METHODS
Interrater reliability of the AHFT was established by two raters independently scoring the performances of 20 women with systemic sclerosis. The same group of subjects was tested again 7-10 days later to determine test-retest reliability. Concurrent validity was established by the subjects' self-reports of their abilities to perform activities of daily living as measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire and the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2).


RESULTS
All of the items had excellent interrater intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC = 0.99-1.00). The ICCs for test-retest reliability were in the excellent (ICC = 0.80-0.97) range for most of the items and moderate (ICC = 0.57-0.73) for the others. Most of the items were moderately correlated with items on the AIMS2 (r = 0.45-0.69).


CONCLUSIONS
The results from this study suggest that the AHFT is a reliable and valid test to measure hand function in persons with systemic sclerosis.
Poole
J L
JL
Occupational Therapy Program, Department of Orthopaedics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5641, USA.
Gallegos
M
M
O'Linc
S
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018737:Hand Strength; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D012648:Self Care; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D016138:Walking