Psychometric Validation of the Hemophilia Functional Ability Scoring Tool (Hemo-FAST)

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Orthopedics
• Hematology

Background:

• The Hemophilia Functional Ability Scoring Tool (Hemo-FAST) was developed to assess functional mobility.
• It comprises patient-reported outcome (PRO) and clinician-reported outcome (ClinRO) components.
• This study aimed to validate Hemo-FAST for joint health assessment in people with hemophilia (PwH).

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the psychometric properties of Hemo-FAST for joint health assessment in adults with hemophilia.
• To assess the reliability and validity of Hemo-FAST in clinical practice and research.

Main Methods:

• 180 adults with hemophilia A or B completed Hemo-FAST PRO and SF-36 questionnaires.
• Clinicians completed the Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS) and Hemo-FAST ClinRO.
• Validation involved assessing reliability, construct validity, and structure validity.

Main Results:

• Hemo-FAST PRO completion time averaged 4.6 minutes.
• Good test-retest reliability (ICC ≥0.70) and inter-rater reliability (>0.70 for 7/9 ClinRO items) were observed.
• High internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.97) and strong construct validity (convergent and discriminant) were demonstrated. Hemo-FAST scores differentiated subgroups based on hemophilia severity (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

• Hemo-FAST is a validated, rapid, and reliable tool for assessing joint health in adults with hemophilia.
• The tool is suitable for both clinical practice and clinical research settings.
• Hemo-FAST effectively measures functional joint health in people with hemophilia.