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Validity and reliability of three generic outcome measures for hand disorders
Insights
The Patient Evaluation Measure (PEM) and Hand Clinic Questionnaire (HCQ) show comparable consistency for hand assessments. The PEM is more reproducible and suitable for clinical and postal use, alongside the valid Hand Outcome Survey Sheet (HOSS) for research.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Hand Surgery Outcomes
Background:
- Accurate outcome measurement is crucial for evaluating hand conditions and treatments.
- Several patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) exist for hand conditions, but their psychometric properties require rigorous assessment.
- The Hand Clinic Questionnaire (HCQ), Patient Evaluation Measure (PEM), and Hand Outcome Survey Sheet (HOSS) are commonly used but need comparative evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess and compare the reliability and validity of three hand outcome measures: HCQ, PEM, and HOSS.
- To determine the suitability of each measure for different clinical and research settings.
- To provide evidence-based recommendations for selecting appropriate hand outcome measures.
Main Methods:
- Reliability testing, including internal consistency and reproducibility (test-retest reliability).
- Validity assessment to determine if the measures accurately capture hand function and patient-reported outcomes.
- Comparative analysis of the psychometric properties of HCQ, PEM, and HOSS.
Main Results:
- The PEM and HCQ demonstrated comparable internal consistency.
- The PEM exhibited superior reproducibility compared to the HCQ.
- Both PEM and HOSS were found to be valid questionnaires for assessing hand conditions.
- The PEM is suitable for both outpatient clinical use and postal administration.
- The HOSS is recommended for research or audit purposes, particularly when combined with the Hand Injury Severity Score.
Conclusions:
- The Patient Evaluation Measure (PEM) offers a reliable, reproducible, and valid option for hand outcome assessment in clinical and postal settings.
- The Hand Clinic Questionnaire (HCQ) is also a consistent measure, though less reproducible than the PEM.
- The Hand Outcome Survey Sheet (HOSS) is a valid tool suitable for research and audit, especially when used with injury severity scoring.
- These findings aid clinicians and researchers in selecting the most appropriate hand outcome measure based on their specific needs.
Abstract:
This is an assessment of three different outcome measures for the hand: the Hand Clinic Questionnaire (HCQ); the Patient Evaluation Measure (PEM); and the Hand Outcome Survey Sheet (HOSS). Each measure has been tested for its reliability and validity. The results suggest that the PEM and the HCQ are comparably consistent but the PEM is more reproducible. Both the PEM and HOSS are valid questionnaires. The PEM is suitable for use in an outpatient clinic and as a postal questionnaire. The HOSS may be used for research or audit especially when the injury has been measured using the Hand Injury Severity Score.
