Reliability, minimal detectable change, and responsiveness of the Quick-FAAM

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Sports Medicine
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Chronic ankle instability (CAI) significantly impacts daily activities and athletic performance.
• Accurate and reliable outcome measures are crucial for evaluating interventions in CAI patients.
• The Quick-Foot and Ankle Outcome Measure (Quick-FAAM) is a patient-reported outcome (PRO) tool designed to assess ankle function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the test-retest reliability of the Quick-FAAM in individuals with CAI.
• To determine the minimal detectable change (MDC) for the Quick-FAAM in this population.
• To assess the responsiveness of the Quick-FAAM to a supervised intervention program.

Main Methods:

• A controlled laboratory study involving 20 adults with self-reported CAI.
• Participants underwent a 4-week supervised intervention.
• The Quick-FAAM was administered at four time points: 4 weeks pre-intervention, immediately pre-intervention, 24 hours post-intervention, and 2 weeks post-intervention.

Main Results:

• Clinically acceptable test-retest reliability was demonstrated, with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC_2,1) of 0.82.
• The minimal detectable change (MDC) was calculated to be 6.5%.
• Large effect sizes (Hedges g) indicated significant responsiveness to the intervention between pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments (ES=1.27 to 1.49).

Conclusions:

• The Quick-FAAM exhibits satisfactory reliability and responsiveness for use in patients with chronic ankle instability.
• The findings support the use of Quick-FAAM in clinical practice and research for monitoring treatment effects in CAI.
• Further research is recommended to explore its properties in acute ankle/foot conditions and assess patient/clinician feasibility.