The COSMIN checklist for assessing the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties of health status measurement instruments: an international Delphi study

TLDR

The COSMIN study aimed to create a consensus‑based checklist for assessing the methodological quality of health‑status measurement instrument studies. A four‑round international Delphi study with 91 invited experts used a five‑point agreement scale, defining consensus as ≥67% agreement, to develop the checklist items. Consensus was reached on the inclusion of internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, responsiveness, and interpretability (the latter not considered a property), producing a checklist useful for instrument selection, peer review, study design, reporting, and education.

Abstract

Aim of the COSMIN study (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments) was to develop a consensus-based checklist to evaluate the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties. We present the COSMIN checklist and the agreement of the panel on the items of the checklist.A four-round Delphi study was performed with international experts (psychologists, epidemiologists, statisticians and clinicians). Of the 91 invited experts, 57 agreed to participate (63%). Panel members were asked to rate their (dis)agreement with each proposal on a five-point scale. Consensus was considered to be reached when at least 67% of the panel members indicated 'agree' or 'strongly agree'.Consensus was reached on the inclusion of the following measurement properties: internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, content validity (including face validity), construct validity (including structural validity, hypotheses testing and cross-cultural validity), criterion validity, responsiveness, and interpretability. The latter was not considered a measurement property. The panel also reached consensus on how these properties should be assessed.The resulting COSMIN checklist could be useful when selecting a measurement instrument, peer-reviewing a manuscript, designing or reporting a study on measurement properties, or for educational purposes.