Comparative measurement efficiency and sensitivity of five health status instruments for arthritis research

TLDR

The study describes a method for determining the relative efficiency of health status instruments in arthritis research. Five health status instruments were administered in random order to 50 arthritis patients before and after total joint arthroplasty, and their relative efficiency and sensitivity in measuring changes across pain, mobility, function, social roles, activity, and global health were assessed using a described method. The instruments showed highly correlated scores but differed in certain dimensions, with larger inter‑instrument differences for social and global outcomes than for pain or mobility, and no single instrument consistently outperformed the others.

Abstract

Abstract Five health status instruments were administered in random order to 50 arthritis patients before and after total joint arthroplasty. Relative efficiency and sensitivity in measurement of change in pain, mobility and physical function, social role and social activity, and global health were assessed. The instruments had highly correlated scores, but had differences in certain dimensions. Inter‐instrument differentials were larger for social and global outcomes than for pain or mobility. No single instrument consistently outperformed the others. A method for determining relative efficiency is described.