A Cluster Randomized Trial of Primary Care Practice Redesign to Integrate Behavioral Health for Those Who Need It Most: Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions.

PURPOSE: Patient outcomes can improve when primary care and behavioral health providers use a collaborative system of care, but integrating these services is difficult. We tested the effectiveness of a practice intervention for improving patient outcomes by enhancing integrated behavioral health (IBH) activities. METHODS: We conducted a pragmatic, cluster randomized controlled trial. The intervention combined practice redesign, quality improvement coaching, provider and staff education, and collaborative learning. At baseline and 2 years, staff at 42 primary care practices completed the Practice Integration Profile (PIP) as a measure of IBH. Adult patients with multiple chronic medical and behavioral conditions completed the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29) survey. Primary outcomes were the change in 8 PROMIS-29 domain scores. Secondary outcomes included change in level of integration. RESULTS: Intervention assignment had no effect on change in outcomes reported by 2,426 patients who completed both baseline and 2-year surveys. Practices assigned to the intervention improved PIP workflow scores but not PIP total scores. Baseline PIP total score was significantly associated with patient-reported function, independent of intervention. Active practices that completed intervention workbooks (n = 13) improved patient-reported outcomes and practice integration (P ≤ .05) compared with other active practices (n = 7). CONCLUSION: Intervention assignment had no effect on change in patient outcomes; however, we did observe improved patient outcomes among practices that entered the study with greater IBH. We also observed more improvement of integration and patient outcomes among active practices that completed the intervention compared to active practices that did not. Additional research is needed to understand how implementation efforts to enhance IBH can best reach patients.

"Integrated behavioral health plus": The best of the worlds of collaborative care management, primary care behavioral health, and primary care.

INTRODUCTION: Discussions comparing the components and virtues of models of integrated behavioral health (IBH), that is, collaborative care management and primary care behavioral health, have been ongoing. In this conceptual article, we recommend shifting the focus to a broader set of components we have found essential to serve the needs of our patients, and hopefully the broader aims of dissemination and implementation of IBH. METHOD: We detail our 20-year experience including the personnel, program components, challenges, successes, and plans for the future that will meet our patients' behavioral health needs and serve primary care. RESULTS: We compare our "IBH Plus" approach using the central tenets of primary care known as the "six Cs" (6Cs) to two dominant models, illustrating differences and similarities among them. The "6Cs" are first contact/accessibility, continuity, comprehensiveness, coordination, context-based, and accountability. We detail how each of these "6Cs" guides the structure and functioning of IBH Plus in the team-based patient-centered medical home setting. DISCUSSION: We believe IBH Plus more clearly relates to and supports the rest of the primary care transformation movement while integrating components of the most popular models of IBH and may support greater implementation of IBH. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Amplification of Positivity Treatment for Anxiety and Depression: A Randomized Experimental Therapeutics Trial Targeting Social Reward Sensitivity to Enhance Social Connectedness.

BACKGROUND: Social disconnection is common and causes significant impairment in anxiety and depressive disorders, and it does not respond sufficiently to available treatments. The positive valence system supports social bond formation and maintenance but is often hyporesponsive in people with anxiety or depression. We conducted an experimental therapeutics trial to test the hypothesis that targeting positive valence processes through cognitive and behavioral strategies would enhance responsivity to social rewards, a core mechanism underlying social connectedness. METHODS: Sixty-eight adults who endorsed clinically elevated anxiety and/or depression with social impairment were randomized 1:1:1 to 5 (n = 23) or 10 (n = 22) sessions of amplification of positivity (AMP) treatment or waitlist (n = 23). Pre- to posttreatment change in striatal activity (primary outcome) during social reward anticipation was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and reactivity to a social affiliation task (secondary) and self-reported social connectedness (exploratory) were examined. Primary analyses compared AMP (doses combined) versus waitlist. A second aim was to compare the effects of different doses. RESULTS: AMP engaged the hypothesized treatment target, leading to greater striatal activation during anticipation of social rewards versus waitlist (d = 1.01 [95% CI = 0.42-1.61]; largest striatal volume). AMP yielded larger improvements in positive affect and approach behavior during the affiliation task (but not other outcomes) and social connectedness. Larger striatal and social connectedness increases were observed for 5-session versus 10-session AMP (d range = 0.08-1.03). CONCLUSIONS: Teaching people with anxiety or depression strategies to increase positive thoughts, behaviors, and emotions enhances activity in brain regions that govern social reward processing and promotes social connectedness. Social reward sensitivity may be a transdiagnostic target for remediating social disconnection.

Application of an egocentric social network approach to examine changes in social connections following treatment for anxiety and depression: A novel measurement tool for clinical trials research?

The epidemic of loneliness and social isolation has been recognized as a public health crisis warranting the same prioritization as other public health issues today, such as obesity, substance use disorders, and tobacco use. Social disconnection is particularly prevalent and disabling among individuals with anxiety and depression, yet it is inadequately evaluated and addressed in most clinical psychology treatment research. Studies generally employ global measures of perceived connectedness, loneliness, or relationship satisfaction, limiting understanding about elements of one's social network that may change with treatment. This study examined changes in the degree (number of people nominated) and quality of one's social network from pre-to post-treatment using an egocentric social network approach in 59 adults (mean age = 30.8 years, range = 18 to 54) with clinically elevated anxiety or depression who were randomized to a cognitive and behavioral positive valence treatment versus waitlist. Participants (egos) named people in their lives (alters) with whom they discussed important issues or spent free time. For each alter, participants rated how close they felt, how close they thought the alter felt to them, and how frequently they communicated. Linear regressions, which included treatment group as a predictor, revealed no group differences in changes in network degree, perceived alter feelings of closeness, or communication frequency, despite prior findings from this sample indicating larger increases in perceived global connectedness in the treatment group. Unexpectedly, the control group reported a greater increase in perceived closeness to alters. Post-hoc analyses revealed this was explained by the treatment group identifying more distal social ties (e.g., extended family, colleagues, roommates) as alters following treatment - an outcome positively associated with global improvements in connectedness. This proof-of-concept study suggests egocentric social network surveys may provide unique information on treatment-related changes in social functioning. Suggestions are provided for adaptations to facilitate application of social network surveys to mental health treatment research.

Development and validation of a mental health subscale from the Quality of Well-Being Self-Administered.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to create and validate a mental health subscale for the Quality of Well-Being Self-Administered (QWB-SA). METHODS: The QWB-SA and other measures such as the Profile of Mood States (POMS), Medical Outcomes Study 36 Item Short Form (SF-36), EuroQOL 5D (EQ-5D), and Health Utilities Index Mark 2 (HUI) were administered to three samples: a general population (N = 3,844), a non-psychiatric medical population (N = 535), and a psychiatric population (N = 915). Independent expert ratings of which items represented the construct of mental health were used along with psychometric methods to develop and validate a 10-item QWB-SA mental health scale. RESULTS: The mental health scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.827-0.842) and strong correlations with other measures of mental health, such as the POMS (r = -0.77), mental health scale from the SF-36 (r = 0.72), EQ-5D mood item (r = 0.61), and HUI Emotion Scale (r = 0.59). It was not highly correlated with measures of physical health. Among the psychiatric population, the new mental health scale was moderately correlated with indicators of psychiatric problem severity. CONCLUSIONS: It is now possible to report outcomes and relationships with mental health in studies that use the QWB-SA. This new mental health subscale can also be used with the large volume of previously collected data using the QWB-SA to examine the impact of illnesses and interventions on mental health-related quality of life.

Primary care medical provider attitudes regarding mental health and behavioral medicine in integrated and non-integrated primary care practice settings.

Primary care medical providers (PCPs) have become de facto providers of services for the management of both mental and chronic illnesses. Although some reports suggest that PCPs favor having Behavioral Health colleagues provide behavioral health services in primary care, others demonstrate this view is necessarily not universal. We examined attitudes regarding behavioral health services among PCPs in practices that offer such services via onsite behavioral health providers (n = 31) and those that do not (n = 62). We compared referral rates and perceived need for and helpfulness of behavioral health colleagues in treating mental health/behavioral medicine issues. In both samples, perceived need was variable (5-100%), as were PCPs' views of their own competence in mental health/behavioral medicine diagnosis and treatment. Interestingly, neither sample rated perceived access to behavioral health providers exceptionally high. Referral rates and views about the helpfulness of behavioral health services, except in relation to depression and anxiety, were lower than expected. These results suggest a need for increased collaboration with and education of PCPs about the roles and skills of behavioral health professionals.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: Associations with gender, race, and source of health information.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccinations for COVID-19 are being distributed, yet vaccine hesitance is placing many people at risk for infection, negative outcomes, and compromising public health. Given primary care clinics are where people most often interact with health care providers, understanding factors associated with this hesitance may help providers in integrated primary care settings best address this hesitance. METHOD: Between September and November of 2020, a survey was sent to all primary care patients within a large southern California health system, with over 10,000 responding (22% response rate). Survey items included sociodemographic variables, level of vaccine hesitance, "proximity to COVID" (e.g., direct exposure to COVID-19 and consequences), as well as a patient's primary source of health information (e.g., traditional news, social media, etc.). Responses assessed the strength of hesitance. RESULTS: Results showed that while 78% of participants "strongly" believed vaccines generally are a good way to protect from illness, only 51% reported strong willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Consistent with previous surveys, younger patients were more hesitant to get vaccinated, as were people of color. Unique to this survey was the finding that those relying on social media, faith-based organizations, or family/friends for health information had the greatest vaccine hesitance. DISCUSSION: While our patient sample was less hesitant than other U.S. adult samples previously reported in the literature, our data suggest that targeting those patients who report reliance on nontraditional health information sources should be approached by primary care teams, including behavioral health providers, to address vaccine hesitancy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care (IBH-PC) to improve patient-centered outcomes in adults with multiple chronic medical and behavioral health conditions: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster-randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic diseases that drive morbidity, mortality, and health care costs are largely influenced by human behavior. Behavioral health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders can often be effectively managed. The majority of patients in need of behavioral health care are seen in primary care, which often has difficulty responding. Some primary care practices are providing integrated behavioral health care (IBH), where primary care and behavioral health providers work together, in one location, using a team-based approach. Research suggests there may be an association between IBH and improved patient outcomes. However, it is often difficult for practices to achieve high levels of integration. The Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care study responds to this need by testing the effectiveness of a comprehensive practice-level intervention designed to improve outcomes in patients with multiple chronic medical and behavioral health conditions by increasing the practice's degree of behavioral health integration. METHODS: Forty-five primary care practices, with existing onsite behavioral health care, will be recruited for this study. Forty-three practices will be randomized to the intervention or usual care arm, while 2 practices will be considered "Vanguard" (pilot) practices for developing the intervention. The intervention is a 24-month supported practice change process including an online curriculum, a practice redesign and implementation workbook, remote quality improvement coaching services, and an online learning community. Each practice's degree of behavioral health integration will be measured using the Practice Integration Profile. Approximately 75 patients with both chronic medical and behavioral health conditions from each practice will be asked to complete a series of surveys to measure patient-centered outcomes. Change in practice degree of behavioral health integration and patient-centered outcomes will be compared between the two groups. Practice-level case studies will be conducted to better understand the contextual factors influencing integration. DISCUSSION: As primary care practices are encouraged to provide IBH services, evidence-based interventions to increase practice integration will be needed. This study will demonstrate the effectiveness of one such intervention in a pragmatic, real-world setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02868983 . Registered on August 16, 2016.

Depression and the chronic pain experience.

The present study examined the relationship between depression and a constellation of pain-related variables that describe the experience of chronic pain patients. Thirty-seven depressed and 32 non-depressed heterogeneous chronic pain patients were identified through structured interviews, use of standardized criteria and scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The 2 groups were compared on demographic variables and scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale (MC), as well as measures of disability and medication use, pain severity, interference due to pain and reported pain behaviors. The depressed group was found to be younger and to score lower on the MC than the non-depressed group. Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA), using age and MC as covariates, revealed that depressed chronic pain patients, relative to their non-depressed counterparts, reported greater pain intensity, greater interference due to pain and more pain behaviors. There were no group differences on the measures of disability and use of medications. The results provide further support for the importance of incorporating depression into clinical and theoretical formulations of chronic pain. Future use of structured interviews and standardized criteria for diagnosing depression may clarify some of the inconsistencies found in the literature.

Use of the quality of well-being self-administered version (QWB-SA) in assessing health-related quality of life in depressed patients.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between depression severity and the Quality of Well-Being scale self-administered version (QWB-SA) in subjects diagnosed with current major depression. METHODS: The research design was prospective and observational. Data were collected on a convenience sample of 58 subjects. Additional measures included the Quality of Well-Being scale interviewer-version (interviewer-QWB), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD-17), Beck Depression Inventory, and each were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, and 4 months postmedication treatment. RESULTS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal QWB-SA scores were significantly correlated with depression severity and the interviewer-QWB. Treatment response, defined as 50% improvement in HRSD-17, was associated with 0.10 and 0.16 unit changes in the QWB-SA at 4 weeks and 4 months, respectively. The QWB-SA was significantly and negatively correlated with cross-sectional and longitudinal depression severity. LIMITATIONS: The study design was observational and used a convenience sample of subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The QWB-SA is less expensive to administer than the interviewer-QWB and is a useful alternative for determining the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatments for depression relative to other physical and mental illness treatments.

Translating patient self-management research into primary care: challenges and successes with group medical visits.

Essential to the implementation of a patient-centered medical home is use of evidence-based interventions by a well-coordinated team of providers in a cost-effective manner. Group Medical Visits (GMVs), designed to increase self-management behaviors in patients with chronic illness, have shown inconsistently to be efficacious. Despite the modest results reported thus far in the literature, GMVs have been promoted by the American Academy of Family Physicians as an important component in the patient-centered medical home. This paper describes the challenges of translating GMVs into clinical practice when research support is not available. A review of 5+ years experience in conducting GMVs in clinical practice, including the numerous barriers, is presented through a "three-world view" model utilized by collaborative care leaders. This review is followed by a comparison of variables extracted from patients' electronic health records of those who participated in GMVs to similar patients who did not participate in GMVs. Results suggest that outcomes often reported in efficacy trials are not easily obtained in real clinical practice. Overcoming the operational and financial obstacles to offering GMVs is necessary before they can be promoted as essential elements in a patient-centered medical home.

Establishing the Collaborative Care Research Network (CCRN): a description of initial participating sites.

Collaborative care has increased dramatically in the past decade, yet the variability in collaborative strategies and the diversity of settings in which collaboration is being implemented make it difficult to assess quality and outcomes. Therefore, three aims were addressed in the current study: (a) describe and characterize the sites in the Collaborative Care Research Network (CCRN), (b) identify factors associated with practices' self-identified collaborative care model (e.g., coordinated, integrated, care management), and (c) identify limitations of available survey data elements so as to propose additional elements for future surveys. Initial (CCRN) sites completed surveys regarding several organizational factors (e.g., setting type, size of patient population, number of behavioral health providers). Results from 39 sites showed significant heterogeneity in self-identified type of collaborative care model practiced (e.g., integrated care, coordinated care), type of practice setting (e.g., academic, federally qualified health center, military), size of clinic, and ratio of behavioral health providers to medical providers. This diversity in network site characteristics can provide a rich platform to address a number of questions regarding the current practice of collaborative care. Recommendations are made to improve future surveys to better understand elements of the patient-centered medical home and the role it may play in outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Are patients' initial experiences at the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes associated with attitudes and self-management over time?

UNLABELLED: Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate patients' experiences when diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related distress and self-management years later. Method One hundred seventy-nine adults with type 2 diabetes, 1 to 5 years after diagnosis, completed a questionnaire assessing what they were told and what was recommended at diagnosis as well as current diet, physical activity, and diabetes distress. RESULTS: Most patients (60%) expressed confidence in their health care provider (HCP) at diagnosis, but 30% reported that a clear action plan was not communicated. Current diabetes distress was significantly lower among those who reported being reassured at diagnosis that diabetes could be managed successfully and had developed a clearer action plan with their HCP. Patients' current dietary behaviors were significantly better among those receiving a clearer action plan at diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Patients' retrospective reports of reassuring HCP messages when diagnosed, along with the presentation of a clear action plan, are associated with less diabetes distress and better self-management at 1 to 5 years after diagnosis. Practical implications Findings suggest a long-lasting impact on patients' attitudes and behaviors when the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is delivered clearly, a sense of hope is provided, and a specific care plan is put forward.

Management of cluster headache.

Cluster headache, an excruciating, unilateral headache usually accompanied by conjunctival injection and lacrimation, can occur episodically or chronically, and can be difficult to treat. Existing effective treatments may be underused because of underdiagnosis of the syndrome. Oxygen and sumatriptan have been demonstrated to be effective in the acute treatment of cluster headaches. Verapamil has been shown to be effective for prophylaxis. For cluster headache completely refractory to all treatments, surgical modalities and newer interventions such as the implantation of stereotactic electrodes may be useful. Patients should be encouraged to avoid possible triggers such as smoking or alcohol consumption, especially during the duster period. The intensity of duster headache pain leads to ethical concerns among researchers over the use of placebo, making randomized controlled trials difficult. As new technology and genetic studies clarify the etiology of duster headache, it is possible that more specific therapies will emerge.

Comparison of measured utility scores and imputed scores from the SF-36 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate 3 methods for imputing utility-based outcomes from clinical trial data measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form (SF-36). SUBJECTS: Our subjects included 131 male and 505 female adults (mean age, 55.42 +/- 12.59 years) who were participating in a randomized clinical trial evaluating a new treatment of adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MEASURES: Participants completed the SF-36, 2 versions of the Health Utilities Index (HUI-2 and HUI-3), the EuroQol EQ-5D, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). SF-36 scores were transformed to utility-based scores using 4 methods developed independently by Fryback, Nichol, and Brazier. RESULTS: All 4 imputed scores were significantly correlated with HUI-2, HUI-3, EQ-5D, and the disease-specific HAQ scores at baseline and at the end of the clinical trial period (P < 0.05). Changes in the imputed scores from baseline to end of study also were significantly correlated with corresponding changes in the measured utility scores and the HAQ score (P < 0.0001). For all imputed and measured scores, changes from baseline were associated with the clinical assessments, ACR20 and ACR50. The associations were stronger for the utility-based measures than the imputed indices. Both imputed and measured scores were sensitive to change in the clinical trial. However, mean scores for the HUI-3 and the Brazier VAS were significantly lower than for the other measures. CONCLUSION: Imputed utility-based score estimates are significantly correlated with measured utility outcomes. However, the imputed measures had more constrained variability, showed poorer correspondence to the ACR20 and ACR50 benchmarks, and predicted less than half of the variance in actual utility-based outcomes. Therefore, directly assessed, not imputed, utility-based measures should continue to be favored for cost-effectiveness analysis.

Gender differences in long-term posttraumatic stress disorder outcomes after major trauma: women are at higher risk of adverse outcomes than men.

BACKGROUND: The importance of psychological morbidity after major trauma, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is continuing to gain attention in trauma outcomes research. The Trauma Recovery Project is a large prospective epidemiologic study designed to examine multiple outcomes after major trauma, including quality of life (QoL) and PTSD. Patient outcomes were assessed at discharge and at 6, 12, and 18 months after discharge. The specific objectives of the present report are to examine gender differences in prolonged PTSD (L-PTSD) and to assess the impact of PTSD by gender on QoL at the 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up time points in the Trauma Recovery Project population. METHODS: Between December 1, 1993, and September 1, 1996, 1,048 eligible trauma patients triaged to four participating trauma center hospitals in the San Diego Regionalized Trauma System were enrolled in the study. The enrollment criteria for the study included the following: age 18 years and older; admission Glasgow Coma Scale score of 12 or greater; and length of stay greater than 24 hours. QoL was measured after injury using the Quality of Well-being (QWB) scale, a sensitive index to the well end of the functioning continuum (range: 0 = death to 1.000 = optimum functioning). Early symptoms of acute stress reaction (SASR) at discharge were assessed using the Impact of Events Scale (score > 30 = SASR). PTSD at 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up was diagnosed using standardized Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria. PTSD (L-PTSD) was diagnosed if full or partial (F + P) or full (F) PTSD Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria were present at all follow-up time points. RESULTS: PTSD (L-PTSD) (F + P) was diagnosed in 35% (221 of 627) of patients at follow-up. PTSD (L-PTSD) (F) was present in 32% (153 of 627). Women were at significantly higher risk of PTSD (F + P) (odds ratio = 2.4, p = 0.001) and PTSD (F) (odds ratio = 2.8, p = 0.001) than men. The association of gender with PTSD was independent of mechanism and injury event-related factors such as perceived threat to life. In multivariate logistic regression, female gender, perceived threat to life, and SASR were strongly and independently associated with PTSD risk. Women were also at risk for worse QWB outcomes; beginning at discharge through the 18-month follow-up, women had significantly lower QWB scores at each follow-up time than men, regardless of prolonged PTSD status. CONCLUSION: These results provide important new evidence that high rates of PTSD persist in the long-term aftermath of major trauma. The association of gender with PTSD was independent of mechanism and injury event-related factors such as perceived threat to life. Within categories of specific mechanism of injury and injury event-related factors, women were at significantly higher risk of prolonged PTSD onset. Prolonged PTSD was associated with significantly reduced quality of life in both men and women, with markedly worse QWB outcomes in women regardless of prolonged PTSD status.

Mental health treatment preferences of older and younger primary care patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare mental health treatment history and preferences in older and younger primary care patients. METHOD: We surveyed 77 older (60+) and 312 younger adult primary care patients from four outpatient medical clinics about their mental health treatment history and preferences. RESULTS: Older adults were less likely than younger adults to report a history of mental health treatment (29% vs. 51%) or to be currently receiving treatment (11% vs. 23%). They were also less likely to indicate that they currently desire help with emotional problems (25% vs. 50%). Older adults were more likely to hold a belief in self-reliance that could limit their willingness to accept treatment for mental health problems, although they were less likely than younger adults to identify other barriers to treatment. Older adults reported that they were less likely to attend programs in primary care targeting mental health issues (counseling, stress management) than younger adults, although they were as willing as younger adults to attend programs targeting physical health issues (healthy living class, fitness program). Age remained a significant predictor of mental health treatment history and preferences even after controlling for other demographic variables. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that older adults in the primary care setting may be less willing to accept mental health services than younger adults. Results further suggest that perceived barriers may differ for older and younger patients, which may indicate the need for age-specific educational messages and services targeted to older adults in primary care.

Validity of self-administered quality of well-being scale in musculoskeletal disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the self-administered Quality of Well-Being (QWB-SA) Scale for patients with rheumatic diseases. METHODS: Family medicine patients (n = 562) and rheumatology patients (n = 334) were assessed using the following tools: QWB-SA, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS), and Rapid Assessment of Disease Activity in Rheumatology (RADAR). RESULTS: Patients with arthritis had significantly lower QWB-SA scores and significantly higher HAQ scores than family medicine patients with and without adjustment for covariates. The QWB-SA was significantly associated with quartiles from the RADAR, AIMS, and HAQ, providing evidence for the validity of the generic measure in patients with arthritis. Discriminant function analysis was used to create an arthritis-specific scoring system for the QWB-SA. Analyses demonstrated systematic relationships between the Quality of Well-Being arthritis composite and the disease-specific RADAR, AIMS, and HAQ. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence supports the validity of the QWB-SA for patients with rheumatic diseases. QWB-SA items can be used to calculate an arthritis-specific score. The QWB-SA can be used to gain generic information for cost-utility analysis and disease-specific outcomes information for patients with arthritis.