%0 Journal Article
%T Measurement properties of physical function scales validated for use in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review of the literature
%A Martijn AH Oude Voshaar
%A Peter M ten Klooster
%A Erik Taal
%A Mart AFJ van de Laar
%J Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1477-7525-9-99
%X Systematic literature searches were performed in the Scopus and PubMed databases to identify articles on the development or psychometric evaluation of PF scales for patients with RA. The content validity of included scales was evaluated by linking their items to the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF). Furthermore, available evidence of the reliability, validity, responsiveness, and interpretability of the included scales was rated according to published quality criteria.The search identified 26 questionnaires with PF scales. Ten questionnaires were rated to have adequate content validity. Construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and responsiveness was rated favourably for respectively 15, 11, 5, and 6 of the investigated scales. Information about the absolute measurement error and minimal important change scores were rarely reported.Based on this literature review, the disease-specificHAQ and the generic SF-36 can currently be most confidently recommended to measure PF in RA for most research purposes. The HAQ, however, was frequently associated with considerable ceiling effects while the SF-36 has limited content coverage. Alternative scales that might be better suited for specific research purposes are identified along with future directions for research.Patients' assessment of physical function (PF) is a core outcome domain of disease status in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)[1,2]. Physical function scales are used in the majority of clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of treatment and have become established instruments for assessing health outcomes in clinical practice and observational studies as well [3-5].A number of efforts have currently been undertaken to compare the variety of disease-specific and generic PF scales that have been validated for use in patients with RA over the years [6-11]. However, previous efforts have been limited to descriptive reviews of well-known instruments or non-sys
%K Physical function
%K disability
%K rheumatoid arthritis
%K psychometric
%K validity
%K reliability
%K responsiveness
%K measurement properties
%U http://www.hqlo.com/content/9/1/99