RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE ARTHRITIS HAND FUNCTION-TEST IN ADULTS WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS

The Arthritis Hand Function Test (AHFT) has shown promise as a standar dized, reliable measure of hand function in adults with rheumatoid art hritis in previous studies. This study adds to the development of the multi-item AHFT by evaluating its inter-rater and test-retest reliabil ity in a sample of 26 adults (mean age, 67 years) with osteoarthritis. Further because ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) i s predicated on physical components such as hand function, the validit y of the AHFT is examined by correlating the scores achieved by these subjects with their scores from self-report measures of physical physi cal, ADL and instrumental ADL. Analysis indicates strong inter-rater r eliability (r=0.99 or better for all AHFT items) and moderate to stron g test-retest reliability (range, r=0.74 to r=0.96). Moderate correlat ions for most AHFT items with physical ADL and instrumental ADL lend s upport to its development as a valid test of hand function.