Date Presented 04/06/19
Demographics related to aging of women in the US will be presented, and research related to changes in fine motor skills and other upper-extremity functioning as one ages will be summarized. A study comparing visual motor skills of typical women in their 30s with those of typical women in their 70s will be presented and clinical implications for practice addressed.
Primary Author and Speaker: O. Jayne Bowman
The Purpose of this study was to ascertain if older women function differently on visual motor tasks than younger women. The omnibus Research Hypothesis was " Differences exist in the visual motor skills of typical women in their 30s and those of typical women in their 70s as determined by the Design Copying (DC) Test of the SIPT.
RATIONALE/BACKGROUND: The US population is rapidly aging. In 2010 a person aged 75 had a life expectancy of 87 (U.S. Census Bureau). Elderly women will increasingly be clients of OTs, so it is important for OTs to learn about their functioning. Fine motor skills used for buttoning and handling coins worsen in the elderly (Hoogendam, et al, 2014), and deficits in their UE coordination are reported (Seidler, Alberts, & Stelmach, 2002). Little is known about how age affects visual motor skills required for diverse occupations. A valid instrument is needed so OTs can objectively assess visual motor skills of elderly women. If the test differentiates between the performances of older and younger women, this known groups, construct validity study will provide OTs with a way to assess visual motor skills of elderly women and provide important information about the way they copy.
DESIGN: A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive, cross sectional design was used.
PARTICIPANTS: A purposive, nonprobability sampling technique was used. Inclusion: typical women in their 30s (n = 30) and 70s (n = 30), free of illness or disability, spoke English, engaged in occupations, had a high school diploma, normal visual acuity with or without glasses. Exclusion: used mood altering drugs, diagnosed with a mental, emotional, or neurological condition, anyone with a previous hand injury.
METHODS/INSTRUMENTATION: The DC Test was administered and scored according to the SIPT manual and yielded 3 scores (Accuracy, Approach, and Total). Participants were assessed individually by the examiner and all sat at the same table and in the same chair.
ANALYTICAL METHODS/ANALYSES: Quantitative analyses were used. A Kolmogorov-Smimov Test of Normality revealed normally distributed data. Hotelling's Trace Multivariate Test was used to maintain a .05 alpha level. Since results of Hotelling's Trace were significant, separate univariate analyses were conducted. Effect size was determined by a Partial Eta Squared. Total Scores were analyzed by a univariate test.
RESULTS: Hotelling' s Trace revealed a difference in the groups' Accuracy and Approach scores. Univariate analyses revealed women in their 30s performed better on Accuracy and Approach than women in their 70s. Thus 2 components of the omnibus hypothesis were confirmed. The Partial Eta Squared revealed age had a greater effect on Accuracy than Approach. Univariate analysis revealed younger women had higher Total Scores than older women. Thus the 3rd component of the omnibus hypothesis was confirmed.
CONCLUSIONS/DISCUSSION: These results provide evidence that women in their 70s have poorer visual motor skills than women in their 30s and that age affects accuracy more than approach. They provide evidence the DC Test is sufficiently sensitive to discriminate between performances of younger and older women. It is important to note not only do women in their 70s perform less accurately, they also go about copying differently than younger women.
IMPACT STATEMENT: These results have important clinical applications. More than 23 million women in the US are over 65 and OTs will increasingly be called upon to evaluate visual motor skills of elderly women. OTs need reliable and valid assessments on which to base decisions. These results suggest the DC Test can fulfill that need and can provide important information about visual motor skills, such as the way elderly women copy.
References
Hoogendam, Y. Y., van der Lijn, F., Vernooij, M. W., Hofman, A., Niessen, W. J., van der Lugt, A., van der Geest, J. N. (2014). Older Age Relates to Worsening of Fine Motor Skills: A Population-Based Study of Middle-Aged and Elderly Persons. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 6, 259.http:/doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00259
Seidler, R.D., Alberts, J.L., Stelmach, G.E. ( 2002). Changes in multi-joint performance with age. Motor Control, 6 19-31. PubMedID: 11842268 U.S
Census Bureau, ( 2014). P23-212, 65+ in the United States: 2010. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
