Does the Use of a Serious Game and the Grip-Ball Decrease Discomfort in Older People When Assessing Maximal Grip-Strength?

摘要

Grip strength testing is a common tool in healthcare evaluation due its predictive ability for a range of concerns including nutritional status, fall risk, and frailty. With respect to frailty, grip strength is one of the Fried criteria, which is the most widely used frailty assessment tool. One problem with maximal grip strength testing is that values might underestimate maximal force due to problems with motivation or discomfort associated with the maximal test. An innovative serious game using the Grip-ball dynamometer was designed to measure grip strength in comparison to the frailty threshold of Fried. Discomfort levels were assessed using a visual-analogue scale for the Serious Game, the Grip-ball in a standard test, and the Jamar dynamometer, which is the gold standard for grip-strength testing. Discomfort was significantly higher for the Jamar, which had a 95% confidence interval of 6.2-7.5, in comparison to 1.5-2.4 for the Grip-ball and 0.7-1.3 for the Serious Game. The Serious Game was able to identify individuals who were not able to produce sufficient grip force to pass the Fried threshold for frailty, while improving comfort levels for the users when compared to a Jamar dynamometer.