Validity and reliability of a new tool to evaluate handwriting difficulties in Parkinson’s disease

Evelien Nackaerts, Elke Heremans, Bouwien C M Smits-Engelsman, Sanne Broeder, Wim Vandenberghe, Bruno Bergmans and Alice Nieuwboer

PLOS ONE, 2017, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Handwriting in Parkinson’s disease (PD) features specific abnormalities which are difficult to assess in clinical practice since no specific tool for evaluation of spontaneous movement is currently available. Objective: This study aims to validate the ‘Systematic Screening of Handwriting Difficulties’ (SOS-test) in patients with PD. Methods: Handwriting performance of 87 patients and 26 healthy age-matched controls was examined using the SOS-test. Sixty-seven patients were tested a second time within a period of one month. Participants were asked to copy as much as possible of a text within 5 minutes with the instruction to write as neatly and quickly as in daily life. Writing speed (letters in 5 minutes), size (mm) and quality of handwriting were compared. Correlation analysis was performed between SOS outcomes and other fine motor skill measurements and disease characteristics. Intrarater, interrater and test-retest reliability were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: Patients with PD had a smaller (p = 0.043) and slower (p 0.769 for both groups). Conclusion: The SOS-test is a short and effective tool to detect handwriting problems in PD with excellent reliability. It can therefore be recommended as a clinical instrument for standardized screening of handwriting deficits in PD.

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0173157

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173157

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