Hand function test Jebsen-Taylor TM Mental

The Jebsen-Taylor hand function test is one of the oldest and most commonly used tools to quantify hand motor function. Developed in 1969 by a team of American researchers, the test has repeatedly passed the test for validity and reliability.

According to the developers, the Jebsen-Taylor test is primarily aimed at patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, but due to its simplicity and practicality, it has become widely used in the functional diagnosis of stroke, cerebral palsy, rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and a number of others diseases and pathological conditions accompanied by limitation of the function of the upper limb.

The target group of patients for this test are people with diseases of the nervous and musculoskeletal system, who have impaired hand function. The tool can be used for people over 5 years old, provided the patient understands the instructions. The test is not recommended for people with speech disorders, as well as after surgery on the upper limb, as the reliability and validity of the test in this category of patients is questionable.

The test covers components from the categories of activity and functioning of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The authors tried to make the test as practically oriented as possible, that is, one that evaluates the performance of tasks typical for the patient's daily activities.

The test includes tasks that assess fine motor skills of the hands and functional tasks with and without weight. The tool consists of seven timed subtests:

Writing a short simple sentence (24 letters),
Flipping cards size 7.6×11.7 cm,
Collecting small items (coins, paper clips and metal bottle caps) and transferring them to a container,
Imitation of the feeding process, by collecting beans with a spoon and transferring them to a container,
Stacking checkers one on top of the other,
Rearrangement of large light objects (empty tin cans),
Rearranging large heavy objects (tin cans weighing 0.453 kg).

Each task is performed with one hand, first the non-dominant, then the dominant. The maximum time allotted for one subtest is 120 seconds. The test evaluates only the speed, but not the quality of tasks.

The "sentence writing" subtest is not performed for patients younger than 8 years old.