Assessment of the structural validity of three foot and ankle specific patient-reported outcome measures.

BACKGROUND: The structural validity of the Lower extremity functional scale (LEFS), the Visual analogue scale foot and ankle (VAS-FA), and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) has not been compared earlier in patients after foot and ankle surgery. METHODS: Altogether 165 previously operated patients completed the foot and ankle specific instruments, the 15D health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument, and general health (VAS). RESULTS: The LEFS, the VAS-FA and the WOMAC had slight differences in their measurement properties. The VAS-FA had the best targeting and coverage. All three foot and ankle measures accounted for mobility and usual activities when compared to the different aspects of generic HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: The LEFS, the VAS-FA and the WOMAC have relatively similar psychometric properties among foot and ankle patients, yet the VAS-FA provides the best targeting and coverage.

Assessment of construct validity of the Finnish versions of the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand Instrument and the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. INTRODUCTION: There is a lack of information on the measurement properties of patient-reported upper extremity instruments and their association to health-related quality of life (HRQoL). PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to examine and compare the measurement properties and construct validity of the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) Instrument and the Michigan Hand Questionnaire (MHQ) using a heterogeneous sample of patients with hand and wrist problems. METHODS: Two hundred fifty consecutive patients visiting a general orthopedic outpatient clinic due to various hand/wrist problems were invited to participate in the study. A total of 193 (77%) participants provided sufficient patient-reported outcome data and were included in the analysis. Participants completed the DASH, the MHQ, the EQ-5D-3L, and pain on a visual analog scale instruments. Grip and key pinch forces were measured. Scale targeting, relatedness of demographics, and construct validity of the DASH and the MHQ were assessed. RESULTS: Both the DASH and the MHQ had good targeting, but the DASH had wider coverage. The convergence between the DASH and the MHQ was high. The DASH was more closely related to HRQoL than the MHQ in terms of EQ-5D scores. DISCUSSION: The DASH instrument appeared to measure hand function and disability from a perspective of HRQoL superior to the MHQ among patients with heterogeneous hand and wrist complaints. CONCLUSION: The DASH performs well in measuring the HRQoL-related hand outcomes while the MHQ might be more specific for the affected hand.

Assessment of Construct Validity of the Oswestry Disability Index and the Scoliosis Research Society-30 Questionnaire (SRS-30) in Patients With Degenerative Spinal Disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Observational cohort study. OBJECTIVES: To measure and compare the structural validity of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Scoliosis Research Society-30 (SRS-30) questionnaire in an adult population with prolonged degenerative thoracolumbar disease. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The ODI and the SRS-30 are commonly used patient-reported outcome instruments to assess back-specific disability and symptoms related to scoliosis. Still, these instruments have not been validated for degenerative spinal disease with different stages of deformity. METHODS: Altogether, 637 consecutive adult patients with degenerative spinal pathologies were included. The patients completed the ODI (version 2.0), the 23 preoperative items of the SRS-30, a general health survey, the Kasari Frequency Intensity Time (FIT) index, the Depression Scale (DEPS), the RAND-36, and visual analog scales for leg and back pain instruments. Psychometric statistical and illustrative analyses were conducted. Deformity groups were analyzed to assess how well the two instruments reflect deformity-related back problems. RESULTS: Both instruments reflected good coverage and targeting. Correlation between the ODI and the SRS-30 was high (r = 0.70; p < .001). Both measures could distinguish between different general health states. The SRS-30 strongly reflected mental state and social well-being. The SRS-30 was less sensitive for pain and function. Furthermore, the principal component of pain/function explained more variance in the SRS-30 compared with the ODI score. The ODI was more sensitive for variance of disability among different age and deformity groups. CONCLUSIONS: Both the ODI and the the SRS-30 provide valid scores in evaluating health-related quality of life and/or level of disability among patients with prolonged degenerative thoracolumbar disease. The ODI has slightly higher correlation with physical functioning. The SRS-30 seems to be better when evaluating the emotional and psychological functions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Relationships Between Youth Sports Participation and Mental Health in Young Adulthood Among Finnish Males.

PURPOSE: To examine whether retrospectively assessed sports participation (SP) and competitive sports (CS) at the age of 12 years is associated with mental health and health behavior in young adulthood among males. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires. SETTING: Conducted prior to compulsory military refresher training course in Finland allowing geographically representative sample of Finnish young men. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred eighty males aged between 20 and 35 years. MEASURES: Mental well-being was measured with the short version of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale and mental distress with 5 items of The Short Form Helalth Survey (SF-36) scale. ANALYSIS: Binary logistic regression models. RESULTS: Sports participation at the age of 12 was associated with better mental health in young adulthood, with both mental well-being (odds ratio [OR] = 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.11-3.11) and mental distress (OR = 0.61, 0.41-0.90). Age, years of education, and current physical activity were controlled. Higher level of intensity of SP and the level of CS in childhood were associated with lower level of mental distress in adulthood. No association was found between the level of CS in childhood and mental well-being in adulthood. Further, youth SP seemed to be a risk factor for increased alcohol consumption and use of snuff in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Despite negative outcomes related to health behavior, the findings provide support for the association between youth SP and positive mental health outcomes in adulthood among males.

Reliability and Validity Study of the Finnish Adaptation of Scoliosis Research Society Questionnaire Version SRS-30.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective clinical study to test and adapt a Finnish version of the Scoliosis Research Society 30 (SRS-30) questionnaire. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to perform cross-cultural adaptation and evaluate the validity of the adapted Finnish version of the SRS-30 questionnaire. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The SRS-30 questionnaire has proved to be a valid instrument in evaluating health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescent and adult population with spine deformities in the United States. Multinational availability requires cross-cultural and linguistic adaptation and validation of the instrument. METHODS: The SRS-30 was translated into Finnish using accepted methods for translation of quality-of-life questionnaires. A total of 274 adult patients with degenerative radiographic sagittal spinal disorder answered the questionnaire with sociodemographic data, RAND 36-item health survey questionnaire (RAND Corp. Health, Santa Monica, CA, US), Oswestry disability index, DEPS depression scale, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) back and leg pain scales within 2 weeks' interval. The cohort included patients with and without previous spine surgery. Internal consistency and validity were tested with Cronbach α, intraclass correlation (ICC), standard error of measurement, and Spearman correlation coefficient with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: The internal consistency of SRS-30 was good in both surgery and nonsurgery groups, with Cronbach α 0.853 (95% CI, 0.670 to 0.960) and 0.885 (95% CI, 0.854 to 0.911), respectively. The test-retest reproducibility ICC of the SRS-30 total and subscore domains of patients with stable symptoms was 0.905 (95% CI, 0.870-0.930) and 0.904 (95% CI, 0.871-0.929), respectively. The questionnaire had discriminative validity in the pain, self-image, and satisfaction with management domains compared with other questionnaires. CONCLUSION: The SRS-30 questionnaire proved to be valid and applicable in evaluating HRQoL in Finnish adult spinal deformity patients. It has two domains related to deformity that are not covered by other generally used questionnaires. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.

Transcultural adaption and psychometric properties of the STarT Back Screening Tool among Finnish low back pain patients.

PURPOSE: The STarT Back Screening Tool (SBST) is a 9-item questionnaire designed for screening low back pain (LBP) patients into three prognostic groups for stratified care. The stratified care approach has proven to be clinically more beneficial and cost-effective than the current best physiotherapy practice. The objective of this study was to translate, culturally adapt and study psychometric properties of the SBST among Finnish LBP patients. METHODS: The SBST was translated into Finnish using appropriate translation guidelines. A total of 116 patients were recruited from outpatient clinics. They were asked to fill out two questionnaires within 1-7 days. The first questionnaire set included the SBST, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (ÖMPSQ) and intensities of back and leg pain (10-cm Visual Analogue Scale). The second questionnaire form included the SBST and a question about persistence of symptoms. RESULTS: Some linguistic and cultural differences emerged during the translation process with item 1 ("spread down my legs"), item 2 ("neck and shoulder pain"), item 6 ("worrying thoughts") and item 9 ("bothersome"). The test-retest reliability of the SBST total score was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.78) and of the psychosocial subscale good (0.68). Cronbach's alpha for the psychosocial subscale was 0.55. Spearman's correlation coefficient between SBST total score and BDI was 0.38, ODI 0.39, ÖMPSQ 0.45, intensity of leg pain 0.45 and LBP 0.31. Based on analysis of variance, the SBST discriminated low- and medium-risk groups better than medium- and high-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: The Finnish translation of the SBST is linguistically accurate and has been adapted to the Finnish-speaking population. It showed to be a valid and reliable instrument and comparable with the original English version. Therefore, it may be used in clinical work with Finnish LBP patients.

Health condition and physical function as predictors of adherence in long-term strength and balance training among community-dwelling older adults.

AIM: Strength and balance training (SBT) has remarkable health benefits, but little is known regarding exercise adherence in older adults. We examined the adherence to strength and balance training and determinants of adherence among ≥75 year old adults. METHODS: 182 community-dwelling individuals (aged 75-98 years, 71% female) began group-based SBT as part of a population-based Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy for the Good Care of the Elderly study. Training was offered once a week for 2.3 years. Adherence was defined as the proportion of attended sessions relative to offered sessions. Participants were classified based on their adherence level into low (≤33.3%), moderate (33.4-66.5%) and high (≥66.6%) adherers. RESULTS: The mean length of training was 19 ± 9 months, and 68% continued participation for at least two years. The mean training adherence was 55 ± 29% for all participants and 18%, 53% and 82% for low, moderate and high adherers, respectively. High adherence was predicted by female sex; younger age; better cognition; independence in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; higher knee extension strength; faster walking speed; and better performance on the Berg Balance Scale and Timed Up and Go tests. Poorer self-perceived health and the use of a walking aid were related to low adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term continuation of training is possible for older community-dwelling adults, although poorer health and functional limitations affect training adherence. Our findings have implications for tailoring interventions and support for older adults to optimize their exercise adherence.

Although unseen, chronic pain is real-A phenomenological study.

Background Research has emphasised the essential role of psychosocial risk factors in chronic pain. In practice, pain is usually verified by identifying its physical cause. In patients without any distinct pathology, pain is easily defined as imaginary pain. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the invisibility of chronic pain, from the patients' perspective. Methods Thirty-four participants with chronic pain were interviewed. The mean age of the participants was 48 years, and 19 of them were women. For 21 of the participants, the duration of pain was more than five years, and most of the participants had degenerative spinal pain. The transcribed interviews were analysed using Giorgi's four-phase phenomenological method. Results The participants' chronic pain was not necessarily believed by health care providers because of no identified pathology. The usual statements made by health care providers and family members indicated speculation, underrating, and denial of pain. The participants reported experience of feeling that they had been rejected by the health care and social security system, and this feeling had contributed to additional unnecessary mental health problems for the participants. As a result from the interviews, subthemes such as "Being disbelieved", "Adolescents' pain is also disbelieved", "Denying pain", "Underrating symptoms", "The pain is in your head", "Second-class citizen", "Lazy pain patient", and "False beliefs demand passivity" were identified. Conclusions In health care, pain without any obvious pathology may be considered to be imaginary pain. Despite the recommendations, to see chronic pain as a biopsychosocial experience, chronic pain is still regarded as a symptom of an underlying disease. Although the holistic approach is well known and recommended, it is applied too sparsely in clinical practice. Implications The Cartesian legacy, keeping the mind and body apart, lives strong in treatment of chronic pain despite recommendations. The biopsychosocial approach seems to be rhetoric.

Chronic pain affects the whole person--a phenomenological study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore participants' perspectives on the effects of chronic pain on the psychophysical unity. METHODS: Thirty-four chronic pain outpatients were interviewed, and the transcribed interviews were analysed with Giorgi's four-phase phenomenological method. The mean age of the participants was 48 years, and 19 of them were women. For 21 of the participants, the pain duration was more than 5 years, and most had degenerative spinal pain. RESULTS: The results of this whole research project indicated that the phenomenon chronic pain consisted of four essential themes: Pain affects the whole person, invisibility, negativity, and dominance of pain. This study concentrates only on one theme "Chronic pain affects the whole person", in which were found eight subthemes in the interviews. The strongest argument made by the participants was not the physical pain itself but the psychosocial consequences, such as distress, loneliness, lost identity, and low quality of life which were their main problems. CONCLUSIONS: In multidisciplinary holistic rehabilitation, it is essential to take care of the patient's psychological distress. A potential source of psychosocial symptoms may be the subjective responses to experience of chronic pain due to the subjective meanings of pain. Implications for Rehabilitation About chronic pain Pain is an experience, not only an aversive sensation. Intensity of pain describes only the sensation, not the experience of pain. In chronic pain, the main complaint may be not the physical pain, but the distress. In rehabilitation, the patient needs to be taken as a whole person. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation, including patient counselling should be the fundamental part of treatment. In rehabilitation, the individual meaning of chronic pain needs to be disclosed.

Reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form, patient self-report section.

BACKGROUND: The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (ASES) is one of the most widely used shoulder outcome tools in clinical work and in scientific studies. However, it has not been validated in the Finnish language. The aims of this study were to cross-culturally adapt the ASES to the Finnish language and to study the psychometric properties of the self-report section of the ASES. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with shoulder symptoms answered the questionnaires of the ASES, a single disability question, the Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). The reliability of the ASES questionnaire was studied using a test-retest procedure at 2-week intervals. Psychometric assessment was performed by testing the construct validity, internal consistency, the criterion validity, and the convergent validity of the ASES. RESULTS: The reproducibility and internal consistency of the ASES were 0.83 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.90) and 0.88 (95% Cl 0.84 to 0.91). There were no significant differences between the diagnostic groups in the pain scores from the ASES, and the function score was significantly higher in the instability group compared to the other groups. The convergent validity of the ASES correlated with the SST, r = 0.73 (p < 0.001); the single disability question, r = -0.74 (p < 0.001); and the Physical Component Score of the SF-36, r = 0.57 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The Finnish version of the ASES proved to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing shoulder disabilities in patients with different shoulder diagnoses, including rotator cuff disease, instability, and osteoarthritis.

The dominance of chronic pain: a phenomenological study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is not only a physical disorder, but also a complex combination of biopsychosocial symptoms affecting each other. When in chronic pain, the patient's entire body becomes a source of pain, and eventually the pain occupies the patient's mind and entire life. The aim of the present study was to examine the life experience and management of chronic pain from the patient's perspective. METHODS: Thirty-four participants with chronic pain were interviewed. For 21 of the participants, the duration of pain was more than five years. Most of the participants had degenerative spinal pain. The transcribed interviews were analysed using Giorgi's four-phase phenomenological method. RESULTS: The results indicated that chronic pain impaired the participant's psychosocial well-being by controlling thoughts and making life itself painful. When life is filled with pain, the entire life is seen through pain. Continuity, unpredictability and the fear of the pain decreased quality of life. As a result of the interviews, the following subthemes were identified, based on the essential theme of 'the dominance of chronic pain': namely: 'pain is the master', 'life is not worth living', 'contextual pain' and 'waiting and hoping'. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain may decrease the quality of the patient's life to such an extent that it may be regarded as not worth living. Multidisciplinary management of chronic pain may lead to a better health status and diminish the adverse consequences of chronic pain.

Health and physical function predicting strength and balance training adoption: a community-based study among individuals aged 75 and older.

This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of health and physical function that are associated with not starting strength and balance training (SBT). The study population consisted of 339 community-dwelling individuals (75-98 years, 72% female). As part of a population-based intervention study they received comprehensive geriatric assessment, physical activity counseling, and had the opportunity to take part in SBT at the gym once a week. Compared with the SBT-adopters, the nonadopters (n = 157, 46%) were older and less physically active, had more comorbidities and lower cognitive abilities, more often had sedative load of drugs or were at the risk of malnutrition, had lower grip strength and more instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) difficulties, and displayed weaker performance in Berg Balance Scale and Timed Up and Go assessments. In multivariate models, higher age, impaired cognition, and lower grip strength were independently associated with nonadoption. In the future, more individually-tailored interventions are needed to overcome the factors that prevent exercise initiation.

Decreased disability is associated with improved perceived quality of life following spinal fusion.

PURPOSE: To assess the disability and relationship between functional status and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients in the early recovery phase following spinal fusion. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study. Since 2008 data of spinal fusion patients have been collected prospectively in two Finnish hospitals. In August 2009, complete data of 173 patients were available. The measurement tool of disability was the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and it was also examined in the framework of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) using body functions and structures, activities and participation components. RESULTS: Preoperatively the mean total ODI was 45 (SD17) and mean (95% confidence interval) change to 3 months postoperatively was -19 (-22 to -17). When the ODI was linked to the ICF, there was a 55% improvement in the body structure and functions component and a 44% improvement in both the activities and the participation components. However, 25% of the patients still had the total ODI score over 40 three months postoperatively. Preoperatively, the mean (95% CI) Physical Component Summary Score (PCS) of the Short Form 36-questionnaire (SF-36) was 27 (26 to 28) and the mean Mental Component Summary Score (MCS) of SF-36 was 47 (45 to 49). Postoperatively the improvement was 9 (95% CI: 8 to 11) in PCS and 6 (95% CI: 4 to 7) in MCS (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Spinal fusion is successful in the early recovery period in terms of reduction of pain and disability. The significant changes in the ODI were seen in all three components of the ICF model. In addition, improvement in functioning was significantly related to positive change in HRQoL. Still there is a subgroup of patients having marked disability needing more intensive rehabilitation and follow-ups.

Self-report functioning according to the ICF model in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in population controls using the multidimensional health assessment questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: To assess disability and functioning of elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and population controls by linking the items included in the self-report Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) with components of the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) instrument. METHODS: In total, 1439 patients with RA (mean age 66 yrs, men 29%) and 957 population controls (65 yrs, men 27%) completed a mailed questionnaire. Functioning was recorded by the Finnish version of MDHAQ. Data included comorbidity, subjective health, education level, employment, exercise habits, self-report joint pain/tenderness, and, for patients, the disease duration. RESULTS: Patients had lower levels of functioning compared to controls in all ICF domains, with the exception that male patients functioned comparably to male controls in the "general tasks and demands" domain. In patients, disease activity, education, exercise frequency, and comorbidities were expectedly associated with lower functioning in the body structure and function component, while male sex and subjectively perceived health were associated with more favorable functioning. In the activity and participation components, disease activity, exercise frequency, and comorbidities were associated with impaired functioning, while better health on self-report was associated with better functioning. CONCLUSION: There is an extra burden of disability in elderly patients with RA compared to the reference population. With a large patient and control population sample, our study shows that use of the self-report MDHAQ identifies all 3 main components of the ICF framework, thus covering a wide spectrum of functioning. Elderly patients with RA, in comparison to population controls, encounter more difficulties in daily activities and their social life.

Changes in the total Oswestry Index and its ten items in females and males pre- and post-surgery for lumbar disc herniation: a 1-year follow-up.

To study the characteristics and changes in the total Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and in its ten component items in female and male patients pre- and post-surgery for lumbar disc herniation. Ninety-eight patients [mean (SD) age 43 (13), 61% males] undergoing lumbar disc herniation surgery were selected for this clinical 12-month follow-up. Subjective disability and back and leg pain were assessed by ODI version 1.0 and the visual analog scale. Pre-operatively females had a significantly higher mean (SD) total ODI [59(3)] than males [51(2)] (P = 0.030). Females were more disabled in the walking, sex life, social life and travelling items of the ODI compared to males. The total Oswestry decreased by 38 (95% CI - 44 to - 31) in females and by 34 (- 39 to - 30) in males at the 1-year follow-up. Most of the improvement (88% in females and 80% in males) occurred during the first 6 weeks; thereafter the changes were minor. In males the changes were greatest in pain, social life and travelling and in females in walking, social life and travelling. Internal consistency value of ODI was 0.88 (95% CI 0.82-0.91). Item analysis of the ODI showed that all the items except pain had high corrected item correlation. As recovery following lumbar disc surgery occurred to a great extent during the first 6 weeks, the early post-operative outcome appears to be quite a reliable indicator of the overall post-operative outcome over the 1-year follow-up. The ODI proved to capture a wide range of disability in these lumbar disc surgery patients, thereby supporting the future use of the index. The "pain intensity" component, which collects data on the use of painkillers in version 1.0 of the ODI did not support the item structure of the index in this study. The use of ODI version 2.0 might remove this problem.

Normative values for the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index: benchmarking disability in the general population.

OBJECTIVE: The Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index (DI) has been commonly used in rheumatology to quantify functional disability in patient groups, but current general population values of this index are not available. This study was undertaken to establish normative values for the HAQ DI in a general population and to analyze its correlates. METHODS: The HAQ DI (range of scores 0-3) was measured in a random sample of 1,530 adults in the Central Finland District. Prevalence rates of disability by strata of age, sex, education level, body mass index (BMI), and health behaviors (including smoking and exercise habits) were calculated. Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient and ordinary least squares regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The estimated population mean HAQ DI was 0.25 (95% confidence interval 0.22-0.28), and 32% of respondents had at least some disability. Both for men and for women, functional disability increased exponentially with age. The HAQ DI was correlated with pain (r = 0.58) and global self assessment (r = 0.61). The prevalence of disability decreased with increasing number of years of education, lower BMI, and increasing frequency of physical exercise. CONCLUSION: Almost one-third of the general population has some functional disability. Functional disability is associated in part with lifestyle choices and increases with age in a nonlinear manner. The normative values of the HAQ DI that we have presented could be used as a reference benchmark for clinical and epidemiologic studies using this measure of disability.