The standardised Malay version of purdue pegboard test: Content validity and test-retest reliability testing

INTRODUCTION: Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring hand dexterity among individuals with or without medical conditions. In the Southeast Asia region where Malay is widely spoken, there is a need to have a Malay translation of Purdue Pegboard Test. This study aimed to translate the PPT into the Malay version (PPT-M) and to determine the content validity and test-retest reliability of this translated version. METHODS: This study involved: (1) four English teachers (translators) for forward and backward translation procedures; (2) 10 experts in the field of occupational therapy (expert reviewers) for content validity testing; and (3) 60 undergraduate students (participants) for test-retest reliability testing. RESULTS: PPT-M had excellent content validity with Item-Content Validity Index = 0.9–1.0, Scale-Content Validity Index/Average = 0.93–0.95, and a slightly lower Scale-Content Validity Index/Universal Agreement = 0.25–0.75. Test-retest reliability for 3-trial administration (n = 30; Intraclass Correlation Coefficients, ICCs = 0.76–0.85; good) was higher compared to 1-trial administration (n = 30; ICCs = 0.34–0.46; poor) for all subtests. Both trial administrations were mostly affected by systematic errors, especially practice effect as the retests gave higher scores. Random errors mostly affected Subtest 3 of 1-trial administration, evident by its Minimal Detectable Change Percent values = 30.84% that fell beyond the acceptable range. CONCLUSION: PPT-M has the potential to be a valuable instrument for measuring hand dexterity among Malay speaking individuals especially when the 3-trial administration is used.