The self‐administered comorbidity questionnaire: A new method to assess comorbidity for clinical and health services research

TLDR

The study aimed to develop the Self‑Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (SCQ) and evaluate its psychometric properties, including predictive validity through associations with health status and health‑care utilization one year post‑discharge. Researchers compared the SCQ to the chart‑based Charlson Index in 170 inpatients, assessing cross‑sectional correlations with the Charlson score, health‑status (SF‑36), and one‑year resource utilization. The SCQ showed modest correlations with the Charlson Index (r = 0.32, increasing to r = 0.55 when items were matched) and with health status and utilization, indicating it is an efficient, practical tool especially when medical records are unavailable.

Abstract

Abstract Objective To develop the Self‐Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (SCQ) and assess its psychometric properties, including the predictive validity of the instrument, as reflected by its association with health status and health care utilization after 1 year. Methods A cross‐sectional comparison of the SCQ with a standard, chart abstraction‐based measure (Charlson Index) was conducted on 170 inpatients from medical and surgical care units. The association of the SCQ with the chart‐based comorbidity instrument and health status (short form 36) was evaluated cross sectionally. The association between these measures and health status and resource utilization was assessed after 1 year. Results The Spearman correlation coefficient for the association between the SCQ and the Charlson Index was 0.32. After restricting each measure to include only comparable items, the correlation between measures was stronger (Spearman r = 0.55). The SCQ had modest associations with measures of resource utilization during the index admission, and with health status and resource utilization after 1 year. Conclusion The SCQ has modest correlations with a widely used medical record‐based comorbidity instrument, and with subsequent health status and utilization. This new measure represents an efficient method to assess comorbid conditions in clinical and health services research. It will be particularly useful in settings where medical records are unavailable.