Jonathan Jarry for their contribution. Conflict of Interest: None to declare. Funding: ... older men and women. (Agnew, 1988, Dev. Neuropsychol; Desrosiers,.
Validation of the Purdue Pegboard for Older Adults with Low Vision Walter Wittich, PhD, FAAO, CLVT School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre – CRIR of the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada
Introduction
Findings
The usability of assistive technologies depends, in part, on the user’s ability to manipulate the device. In the context of aging and visual impairment, the visibility of any device and its components becomes crucial, and often users rely on tactile information in order to overcome visibility barriers. The purpose of this study was to establish performance norms for older adults with low vision on a common measure of manual dexterity: the Purdue Pegboard Test. The Purdue Pegboard was completed visually with the dominant, non-dominant and both hands by 134 older adults (age 60 to 97) with various levels of low vision, ranging from 20/30 to 20/604 in the better eye.
• • • • •
Performance on the Purdue Pegboard decreased with age. Participants in their 9th decade had significantly lower scores than those in their 6th or 7th decade. Performance was best with dominant hand and worst with both hands. No significant difference between men and women, contrary to previous findings. The scores of older adults with low vision were considerably lower than those of healthy older adults by about 4-to-5 pegs or peg pairs across conditions. • Overall performance of older adults with low vision was worse than the performance of working-age adults with a visual impairment.
Table 1 Participant characteristics (sex, number, and visual acuity) by age group
Figure 1
Women
Note. VA = distance visual acuity in the better eye with best standard correction.
Men
The scores of older men and women with low vision in the present study compared to normative scores for healthy older men and women (Agnew, 1988, Dev Neuropsychol; Desrosiers, 1995, Disabil Rehabil). Scores are displayed by age group and by Purdue Pegboard condition (dominant, nondominant, and both hands). Both men and women with low vision demonstrate reduced performance on the Purdue Pegboard compared to their healthy peers across all age groups. Error bars represent one standard deviation from the mean.
Table 2 Normative values for the Purdue Pegboard test for older adults with low vision
Figure 2
Women INSTRUCTIONS: The individual must place as many small metal pegs as possible into holes that are arranged in two vertical rows. Participant has thirty seconds to complete this task, first with the dominant hand, then the non-dominant hand, and finally with both hands simultaneously, over a period of three trials.
Acknowledgements: The author would like to thank Christina Nadon and Jonathan Jarry for their contribution.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
Men
Purdue Pegboard scores of the present study grouped by visual acuity levels and hand conditions compared to two studies with visually impaired participants for working-age adults aged 18 to 65 (Maxfield, 1960, Percept Mot Skills) and adults with a visual impairment aged 17 to 62 (Tobin, 1987, J Occup Psychol). Performance decreased with decreasing visual acuity, and older adults in the present study generally performed more poorly than working-age adults with low vision. DH = dominant hand, NDH = non-dominant hand, LH = left hand, BH = both hands. Error bars for the present data and the Tobin data indicate one standard deviation from the mean. Error bars for the Maxfield data indicate 50% ranges for the data.
Funding: Support by the Vision Research Network of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (grant # 32643) and the Fondation Antoine-Turmel.
