Abstract
An individual's handgrip strength (HGS), measured by a hand dynamometer, has shown significant correlations with clinical conditions such as malnutrition, type 2 diabetes, functional disability, and overall quality of life. Existing studies have indicated that HGS testing is a promising tool to screen for disease. This is of interest to resource-constrained areas because barriers to healthcare have created a large need for simple and effective medical screening devices. Inexpensive, ruggedized dynamometers to measure HGS already exist on the market. Despite these opportunities to use HGS as a screening tool, the literature on HGS is incomplete and not cohesive. This article provides a synthesis of the recognized relationships and correlations between HGS and diverse clinical conditions. Established statistically sound associations as well as compelling gaps in the knowledge base are discussed. Pathways to integrate HGS devices into the emerging Community Health Worker (CHW) infrastructure as a health screening and income-generating tool in developing countries are described. The goal of this article is to inform research and entrepreneurial initiatives that can collectively leverage handgrip dynamometers as effective and efficient health screening tools in low-resource contexts.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 4th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, GHTC 2014 |
Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. |
Pages | 242-248 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781479971930 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2014 |
Event | 4th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, GHTC 2014 - San Jose, United States Duration: Oct 10 2014 → Oct 13 2014 |
Other
Other | 4th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, GHTC 2014 |
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Country | United States |
City | San Jose |
Period | 10/10/14 → 10/13/14 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Management of Technology and Innovation
- Engineering(all)