A Survey of Current Hand Assessment Practice in the UK

Abstract

A range of physical assessment strategies is available to hand therapists although approaches to their use may be variable. Inconsistent use of standardised assessments may compromise the information available to therapists to provide an evidence base for, and inform, practice. Potential research opportunities may also be lost as comparative studies are difficult in such circumstances. This study aimed to review hand therapy assessment practices in the UK. Following a pilot study, a survey of the membership of BAHT (n=493) was undertaken using a self-completed postal questionnaire and a 50.5% response rate (n=249) was secured. Findings suggest that UK hand therapists are using assessment tools of variable accuracy in an environment of limited resources. Therapist time invested in physical measurement may be providing a poor return in terms of the quality of information generated. The need for accurate and easy-to-use measurement tools is evident as is the desire for patient-centred outcome measures. User-friendly and inexpensive measurement tools might facilitate hand therapy research, minimise the potential for researcher bias and enhance the evidence base for hand therapy. Subsequent work has begun to explore assessment tools that may evaluate patient outcome more effectively.