Expanding the ABCC-tool for osteoarthritis: Development and content validation

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Health
• Health Services Research
• Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Background:

• Current osteoarthritis (OA) management often relies on a stepped-care approach focused solely on physical symptoms.
• OA patients advocate for a more holistic, person-centered care model integrating physical, emotional, and social well-being.
• Existing assessment tools may not fully capture the multifaceted burden of OA from a patient's perspective.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, condition-specific module for the Assessment of Burden of Chronic Condition (ABCC) tool tailored for osteoarthritis (OA) care.
• To enhance the ABCC tool by incorporating physical, emotional, and social aspects of OA, moving beyond a purely symptom-based evaluation.
• To improve the quality of experienced OA care and facilitate shared decision-making through a more comprehensive assessment.

Main Methods:

• A triangular iterative process involving OA patients and healthcare professionals was employed.
• Literature searches and expert panel consultations informed the module's development.
• Content validity was evaluated using the COSMIN methodology, including patient feedback and calculation of the item-content validity index (I-CVI) for healthcare professionals.

Main Results:

• The developed OA module includes specific questions addressing pain, kinesiophobia, and joint stiffness.
• 94% of OA patients identified these questions as important for their condition.
• Healthcare professionals' I-CVI scores ranged from 0.75 (joint stiffness) to 1.0 (pain, kinesiophobia), indicating good content validity.

Conclusions:

• A novel, condition-specific OA module has been successfully developed for the ABCC tool.
• This module supplements existing generic questions by measuring OA-specific complaints.
• The enhanced ABCC tool aims to be more comprehensive and applicable to a broader OA patient population.