Differences in the performance of standardised fine motor assessment among Czech and Slovenian occupational therapists

the Purdue Pegboard Test

Abstract

Introduction: Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) is objective standardized test for fine motor skills assessment. It contains four physically administered subtests. The task is to place as many components as possible on the pegboard in a limited amount of time to holes exactly according to the given instructions. Specific situations often arise. It is necessary to react to them immediately and then take them into account when calculating the score.

The aim of the project was to determine whether occupational therapists (OTs) from the Czech Republic and Slovenia react uniformly to selected specific situations during PPT testing and whether they agree on their evaluation.

Methodology: In 2021, an online questionnaire survey was addressed to Czech and Slovenian OTs. The questions included video demonstrations of six specific situations. Answers from 87 Czech a 67 Slovenia OTs were analysed using descriptive statistics.

The results clearly confirm that OTs from neither country agreed on the ways of responding to the selected specific situations nor on their evaluation. Reusing a dropped peg on the test board would be counted by 20 respondents, with a further 17 stating the exact opposite. A pair of pegs, one of which was not completely tucked into the hole, was counted by 31 OTs and not counted by 8 OTs. A total of 16 OTs would immediately stop the attempt due to skipping holes during Completion, while 13 others would not consider it as a mistake. Due to the wrong order of the hands during making assemblies, 20 OTs would invalidate the attempt, while 13 others would count it.

Conclusion: The questionnaire survey confirmed that the new rules for dealing with specific situations arising during PPT and for their evaluation presented in the Czech extended version of the PPT manual are absolutely necessary for uniform objective testing in clinical practice.