The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Oxford Elbow Score

Objective measures of outcome ensure reliable decisions with regard to treatment planning. Oxford Elbow Score (OES) is one of the common outcome measures used for assessing quality of life of patients with elbow disorders. OES consists of three domains: pain, elbow function and social/psychological. The aim of this study is to test the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the OES.

The study's sample includes 82 patients with elbow problems. The original version of the OES was translated into Turkish using the Isis Outcomes Translation and Linguistic Validation Process. The construct validity of the Turkish version of the OES was tested using a confirmatory factor analysis. For internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha was calculated. A Pearson correlation and a dependent sample t test were utilised for reproducibility of the OES. For convergent validity, the correlation coefficients were calculated between the domains of the OES and Short Form 36 (SF36). An independent sample t test was calculated to determine if there was a significant difference between the scores of the participants from the upper and lower groups.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicates that the three-factor structure of the OES was confirmed. Most of the fit indices are at the expected level, except for a root mean square error of approximation and an adjusted goodness of fit index. Cronbach's alpha was calculated as 0.91 for the whole scale. The results showed that there are positive and high correlations between the first and follow-up assessments (r = 0.89, p < 0.0001). The Turkish OES version and its dimensions have moderate and significant correlations with domains of SF36 in general. The test results indicated that the mean of each item on three domains of the OES was higher for the upper 27 %, and this difference was significant at the 0.01 level.

The Turkish version of the OES is a reliable, valid, reproducible and practical tool. It can be used for patients with elbow disorders and is recommended for clinician use.