Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children

Background: The human hand exhibits remarkable versatility and utility, in its interactions with the surrounding environment. Inadequate hand strength and fine motor skills may lead to functional limitations. Limited information on hand strength and fine skill performance in institutionalised childr...

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Main Authors: Silpa Voola, Kalpana Kosalram, Prince Kalyanasundaram
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Health for All Nations 2025-03-01
Series:Christian Journal for Global Health
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Online Access:https://cjgh.org/articles/394/files/67d77e92efe4c.pdf
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author Silpa Voola
Kalpana Kosalram
Prince Kalyanasundaram
author_facet Silpa Voola
Kalpana Kosalram
Prince Kalyanasundaram
author_sort Silpa Voola
collection DOAJ
description Background: The human hand exhibits remarkable versatility and utility, in its interactions with the surrounding environment. Inadequate hand strength and fine motor skills may lead to functional limitations. Limited information on hand strength and fine skill performance in institutionalised children motivated this study. We investigated hand function (hand-grip-pinch strength and dexterity in 50 institutionalised children (IG) (38 males, 12 females; mean age 11.28 ± 0.64 years) and compared them with 50 non-institutionalized children (CG) (40 males, 10 females; mean age 11.04 ± 0.72 years) being raised in their families. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the one-hundred subjects, age 10-12 years, have completed hand grip test and three types of pinch tests (lateral, 3-point and 2-point) for strength and Purdue peg board task for fine manual dexterity. Grip and pinch strength were measured using Jamar dynamometer and Jamar pinch gauge respectively. In the Purdue Pegboard task, participants placed pins using the dominant, non-dominant, and both-hands respectively. Additionally, participants built assemblies using pins, washers, and collars with alternating hand movements. The student’s independent t-test was used to analyse the differences. Result: All the measures of grip strength, pinch strength and dexterity of IG were significantly inferior bilaterally to CG. The IG presented weaker hand-grip (p < 0.001) and pinch strengths (p < 0.05) and slower in dexterity skill performance (p < 0.05) than CG. Conclusion: The institutionalized individuals showed weaker hand movement functionality than non-institutionalised individuals. Child Care Institutions must incorporate enriching play environments as a health promotive measure for optimal development of these children.
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spelling doaj-art-aa49fe5ace7c409ab4dcbbff6829a7ac2025-08-20T03:40:22ZengHealth for All NationsChristian Journal for Global Health2167-24152025-03-0112496010.15566/cjgh.v12i1.394CJGH-12-394Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised childrenSilpa Voola0Kalpana Kosalram1Prince Kalyanasundaram2SRM School of Public Health, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSRM School of Public Health, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, Chennai,Tamil Nadu, IndiaDirectorate of student affairs, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaBackground: The human hand exhibits remarkable versatility and utility, in its interactions with the surrounding environment. Inadequate hand strength and fine motor skills may lead to functional limitations. Limited information on hand strength and fine skill performance in institutionalised children motivated this study. We investigated hand function (hand-grip-pinch strength and dexterity in 50 institutionalised children (IG) (38 males, 12 females; mean age 11.28 ± 0.64 years) and compared them with 50 non-institutionalized children (CG) (40 males, 10 females; mean age 11.04 ± 0.72 years) being raised in their families. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the one-hundred subjects, age 10-12 years, have completed hand grip test and three types of pinch tests (lateral, 3-point and 2-point) for strength and Purdue peg board task for fine manual dexterity. Grip and pinch strength were measured using Jamar dynamometer and Jamar pinch gauge respectively. In the Purdue Pegboard task, participants placed pins using the dominant, non-dominant, and both-hands respectively. Additionally, participants built assemblies using pins, washers, and collars with alternating hand movements. The student’s independent t-test was used to analyse the differences. Result: All the measures of grip strength, pinch strength and dexterity of IG were significantly inferior bilaterally to CG. The IG presented weaker hand-grip (p < 0.001) and pinch strengths (p < 0.05) and slower in dexterity skill performance (p < 0.05) than CG. Conclusion: The institutionalized individuals showed weaker hand movement functionality than non-institutionalised individuals. Child Care Institutions must incorporate enriching play environments as a health promotive measure for optimal development of these children.https://cjgh.org/articles/394/files/67d77e92efe4c.pdfhand functiongrip strengthpinch strengthmanual dexterityinstitutionalism
spellingShingle Silpa Voola
Kalpana Kosalram
Prince Kalyanasundaram
Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children
Christian Journal for Global Health
hand function
grip strength
pinch strength
manual dexterity
institutionalism
title Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children
title_full Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children
title_fullStr Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children
title_full_unstemmed Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children
title_short Hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non-institutionalised children
title_sort hand movement functionality in institutionalised and non institutionalised children
topic hand function
grip strength
pinch strength
manual dexterity
institutionalism
url https://cjgh.org/articles/394/files/67d77e92efe4c.pdf
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